Jak and Daxter: Changing Time
by Chewy Nemesis
Summary: Samos discovers the future, and sets out to change it from the original Time Loop. WILL BE UNDER RECONSTRUCTION.
1. Chapter 1: Revelations and Realisations

**A/N: Jak and Daxter are exclusively the property of Naught Dog (and potentially High Impact Games). I do not own them, or any part of their world that is recognisable.**

Chapter 1: Revelations and Realisations

"FREEZE!"

The Shadow froze, along with the rest of the Underground that were waiting for Jak in the Tomb of Mar. Only Torn and Ashelin weren't here out of the members Jak knew. Hmm, Ashelin needs to maintain appearances, but why was Torn not here?

The Shadow was shocked out of his reverie by a Krimzon Guard in yellow armor whacking him across the back with the butt of his gun and the accompanying yell "Move it!". He looked up to see that everyone else was already being forced on to the lift, only to duck as the Baron dropped in with a nasty-looking machine that had no business fitting inside the elevator shaft. Cackling at the cowering members of the Underground, he flew over to the wall that Jak disappeared under when he entered the Tomb. The Precursor Oracle didn't even animate itself to forbid the Baron when his lethal flying spider assaulted the protections designed to keep out all those who weren't of Mar's blood.

BOOM! The stone construction gave several loud cracks as the claws on Praxis' machine started to rotate like a series of drills; the flying stone chunks were the Shadow's last sight of the legendary Tomb of Mar as the elevator started to rise.

Quickly, the Shadow glanced around to see how the rest of the Underground were faring, after all, he was their leader. Tess was sitting down, pouting at the Guard who was monitoring her, but a quick look into her eyes showed that she was genuinely worried about what was happening in the Tomb; more specifically Daxter (she really had a soft spot for that ottsel). Kor was looking, well, rather pathetic, as if he was a child that had his crocadog taken from him; well actually he knows of only one kid with a crocadog... But really, the old guy almost looked _hungry_ at the thought of holding the precursor stone 'in his hands'. The kid looked ready to cry, and Kor had to reassure him that his crocadog was only stunned when it got hit on the head with a gun butt when it barked loudly and tried to bite a Guard. It was interesting though, why was Kor literally latched on to the boy, and why did he seem so happy that the crocadog was stunned? Curious.

The doors opened to show the entire area in lockdown. The Shadow could see yellow armoured commanders organising the rest of the Krimzon Guard on foot patrol, Hellcats and Patrol Cruisers were hovering roadblocks at every entrance to the Statue of Mar. Everyone from the Tomb was escorted to the Palace, and sent through the Warp Gate to the Fortress prison cells, but Kor and the Kid seemed to have disappeared in transit. The Shadow frowned; how had they gotten out? With a sigh he pushed such thoughts aside, almost glad to arrive at his cell and away from the violent Guard to just have some time to sit down, nurse his headache, and push all complicated thoughts out in a night of meditation. Sadly it was not to be, as someone was already sitting on the cot.

Someone who was going to make his headache much _much_ worse.

Himself.

Samos the Sage.

SCENE BREAK

"By the Metal Nest!" The Shadow swore under his breath. His, obviously older, self looked up and said "Well well well, I was wondering when you were going to get here." Hearing the voice from his older self just made Young Samos groan "Unless you can take care of my headache, I don't even want to know _what_ circumstances brought you here." Elder just placed his hand on Younger's head and drew some Green Eco "Being the Sage of Green Eco helps with headaches, among other injuries. And believe me you will have a great many more in the years to come. Now, when I was you, the Elder tried to explain what had happened, but I didn't believe him; if I use a memory transfer technique I made for this occasion while we're alone, and act as I did last time, then the time field won't be changed! Now hold still" Elder then proceeded to draw strangely charged Green Eco from his head then held it out to Younger. "This will explain everything, including what I just did." Elder said before he pressed his Eco filled hand to Younger's head. Visions of everything that was to be flitted through the Shadow's head: the jail-break, the life seed, Metal Kor, the Rift Gate, Sandover, everything that happened between the two times this moment occurred flashed through his head, along with many understandings. '_He betrayed Jak!_' a part of him screamed, and it was true. Samos feared altering the time line so much that he'd done nothing to prepare Jak for Haven City, despite knowing what he'd become. In fact, the only time he showed _any_ knowledge of the future were the words "Find yourself Jak." that he'd said as the Rift Rider broke. '_Damn'_ Young Samos knew that he had to watch himself, as Elder wasn't opposed to stealing the memories back if he thought Young Samos wasn't acting properly. The final touches to his plan had just been made when the door slid open...

SCENE BREAK

"Jak, wait!" Young Samos called after the Krimzon Guards left Haven Forest. Hearing the cries of the plants had troubled him deeply, and he knew that the Precursor Stone had to be recovered at all costs. "What is it Samos? I don't exactly have a lot of time." Jak waited for Samos to continue when he caught the look on his face. "Go on Dax, I'll catch up to ya in a sec. Wait for me by the Warp Gate." Daxter looked at Jak strangely before running off, with Jak turning back to a much relieved Samos. "I'm sorry." Samos blurted out before he could stop himself, "I'm sorry for what my older self has done." Jak frowned, was this about what he thought? "As you know, the Rift Ring took you into the future, yet here you find me, the younger version of the elf you grew up with." Jak's frown deepened. "What you may not know, is that while there is another Rift Ring in this time, I'm not the only elf going to travel through it. Jak my boy, you are also from this time."

Jak froze. _What! That means that Samos knew... Dammit!_ "Yes, and you know yourself well, you are the Kid, the heir to Haven City." Jak was reeling by this point; he knew that Samos wouldn't lie to him, but this was a lot to take in. Also, if Samos was anything like his older self, then he would have delighted in withholding the information and driving everyone crazy with his 'old wise sage' act. So why was he being told this? "Now Jak, the reason I'm apologising is because all while you were growing up in Sandover, the Sage knew that this would happen because he knew you in this time as me. AND HE DID NOTHING TO PREPARE YOU OR SAVE YOU FROM THE DARK ECO!" Samos was (relatively) red in his green face and panting at this time, and he was genuinely distraught. "Shit." was Jak's eventual response as his face reflected rage and he understood what Samos was saying. However, Dark Jak had been introduced to the last wave of Guards, so he didn't have enough Dark Eco to transform and take out his frustrations. "Anyway, the older me developed the technique to make copies of a person's memories with eco, but it only works with elves who have eco as a part of their make up. This usually means Sages only, but I believe you can do it too, as courtesy of the Baron's experiments. I will give you the memory of Elder perfecting the technique, and I ask that you put all of your memories into this jar so I can eventually give them to the kid to help teach him what he needs to know." Samos then pulled a small amount of the strangely charged Green Eco from his head and pressed it to Jak's. Jak then simply nodded, and withdrew some Dark Eco from his own head and placed in the jar. It wasn't really Eco, but for beings that had Eco as a part of them found that their thoughts and memories behaved like the Eco that was a part of them. Jak then turned swiftly, and stalked out of the forest, his head whirring.

Jak didn't know what the effects of changing time would be, but knew that he didn't want to be the elf that had darkness eating away at him, he wanted to be the Coloured Eco Channeler he used to be. He glanced down at the KG boxes at his feet, and kicked them, scattering their contents. He picked up the Scatter Gun ammo first, and popped the lid on the disc-like ammunition to see smouldering Red Eco. He dipped his hand in only to pull it out quickly as it burned him; the Eco had tried to enter his body like it always had when it encountered the Dark Eco twisted channels. His body had always had those channels, but now they would only take Dark Eco. Everything else burned him, except Green, and that was only because it didn't Channel like it used to, but instead move on to the wound like everyone else. Everyone who couldn't channel Eco.

"Dammit!" Jak was frustrated, and mourned what he had lost. A quick glance at all the other munitions showed him the same result, although he didn't open the PeaceMaker cap; he had enough experiences of absorbing Dark Eco to know that he would just lose the ammo. Removing all of the mods he looked down at the Morph Gun itself, to see how the gun worked. Pulling it apart further, he noticed a flap open on the side of the gun, and a small booklet fall out. Opening it, he read _The Morph Gun is the latest in infantry weapon technology, superior to all other weapons because of ability to use Coloured Eco in its raw form. The capability to do this came about from studying a legendary Eco Channeler, a subject from the Dark Warrior Program. This elf had physical Channels for Eco in his bones, and we replicated the physical Channel out of the synthetic material for this gun's barrel. NOTE: IF THIS GUN HASN'T BEEN FIRED YET, YOU MUST BREAK IT IN BY ADDING SMALL AMOUNTS OF ECO UNTIL THAT TYPE IS ACCEPTED... _Jak stopped reading, stunned. He'd had the capability to channel Dark Eco, but couldn't simply because the stuff looked volatile, and had been forbidden by the Green Sage.

And now he was cursed with the stuff.

SCENE BREAK

BOOM!

Jak looked back at the Weapons Factory that exploded with Krew and his Piercer Bomb. Krew... Jak wondered if Krew had any more Morph Guns, since he loved weapons so much. Tess called on the communicator as Jak stepped of the Blue Hellcat in the Port. She said that Keira wanted her to show Jak and Daxter something in the Hip Hog, but she'd be around in a second after touring the Gun Course. Daxter looked like he really wanted to meet Tess, and Jak had his own agenda so he wordlessly handed his Jet Board to Daxter before walking towards Krew's old Saloon. "Hey!" Daxter called beside him, looking completely comfortable on the Jet Board. "You've been getting distant with me buddy, and you'd better have a good explanation!" Daxter was facing Jak now, not even looking at where the Jet Board was headed. "Yeah Dax, I've got some stuff I need to do. It's still experimental at this stage, so I'll tell you after I've sorted it out, alright?" Daxter scowled "Fine, but this better be _really_ good!" and zoomed off, leaving Jak to his thoughts.

Entering the Hip Hog, Jak looked around, looking for any entrance into a secret weapons cache. He might have thought that the weapons might not be there at all, but he knew that Krew's obsession probably meant that he had to have the weapons close by, or else someone might touch them when he wasn't around, including any hired help he acquired to guard it. So, it was with this thought in mind that Jak searched the bar. Looking up, he discovered an apparent entry into the attic where only Krew's floating chair could reach it, not that anyone would be looking up there. Leaping up and grabbing the handle, Jak was glad that his body gained some benefits from the Dark Eco Treatments outside of Dark Jak, who was completely mindless and focused only destroying any creature that didn't stir enough of an emotional reaction that made it friendly. Dark Jak could have easily crawled up to the attic, if he could remember to do so, if he could do so without destroying the building, and if he could climb up there and remember to power down without destroying all the weapons first, assuming that was what was up there. Grabbing the handle worked, before Jak's weight pulled down the hatch and snapped it off at its hinges. Another leap, and he was pulling himself inside.

The hatch wasn't big enough for Krew in all his glory, so it seemed he programmed his chair to interact with some cataloging software to deliver what he wanted. Jak, however, had use of his legs and full access to the room, and it made him gape. _Everything_ was here. Everything. The room was huge, it had extraction claws on rails hanging from the ceiling, and it housed all the weapons Jak had ever seen, and then some. Krimzon Guard rifles sat in a container, in the corner as if they were not weapon enough to be of any importance, a few Peace Makers like Sig's got wall brackets, a Hellcat Turret and a Ground Turret on pedestals, and an entire _wall_ dedicated to the Morph Gun, two sets of brackets for guns (only one of them filled) and the rest of the wall filled with possible mods, two of each. Jak stripped the wall entirely, coming out with two fully modded Morph Guns with the second one bleeding in red Eco as its first ammo. He was curious as to why Krew would give such a powerful and rare weapon to a person that only just wanted to be a Wastelander; he just chalked it up to his gratefulness for the "...shipment of rare Eco ore is worth more than ten of your lives..." or something like that, until he saw the holsters. Marvels of modern technology, these holsters would return the weapon to them if the weapon was ever lost from the grip of the elf that had owned the gun, so Krew would get it back if Jak ever died. He slipped the one tuned to his gun inside his tunic, where it was deceptively thin so no-one would see it. He placed the other one in its holster and put it in his pack, to take to Samos. He didn't bother to read the plaque on the foot of the wall that said "The first rule to making any successful weapon is to always make two; there will always be those who claim that your weapon is too dangerous and attempt to dismantle it." Work done, Jak carefully dropped into the Hip Hog to see Daxter happily bonk the heads of fake Metal Heads in a game, and arrived just in time to see the Time Map released.

SCENE BREAK

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! *Click*

"Fuck!" Jak yelled as his Blaster ran out of ammo. He quickly dove to the side as the Metal Head Leader swung itself off of its hanging position onto the ground right where Jak was five seconds ago.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Dark Eco splattered around the areas where the bursts landed. Jak was running and dodging the blasts of Dark Eco from Metal Kor, but Kor was slowly gaining on him. He had fought with everything he had, and now both were tiring and at the end of their tether. Unfortunately, Jak's Morph Gun was out of all ammo, including (much to his chagrin) the ammo from the second gun. The Scatter Gun had even been used on the smaller Metal Heads that tried to keep him in one position long enough for Kor to hit him with his exploding Dark Eco. The Metal Head Leader's wing-blades made it impossible for Jak to get close enough for hand-to-hand combat that was his last and most comfortable weapon, so he was running for his life trying to make a plan that didn't involve him dying horribly. He dodged more Dark Eco shots... hmm, _Dark Eco_ shots. Before Jak could tell himself that he can't absorb Eco while it's used as a weapon that's being fired at him, he stood stock still for the next volley of shots.

Only the hunger from the beast that was Dark Jak saved him, and he used the concentrated Eco to transform. Pale skin, bulging unnatural muscles, white hair, horns and claws along with soulless pitch black eyes and purple lightning crackling across his fingertips; Dark Jak was back. The beast took note of its surroundings for a brief glance before turning its attention back to its enemy. This was the monster that tried to kill its host, and it was incredibly powerful. Not pausing for a moment, Dark Jak leaped into the air, focused all of its Dark Eco into one hand, and slammed it down on the Metal Head Leader's skull gem. The normally unfocused shock-wave was directed completely into the body of Kor, which collapsed, dead.

Jak was achingly tired, but walked slowly to the landing Lurker balloon with tunneling vision for one last conversation. "Samos..." he croaked, and both Sages rushed forward with hands glowing with Green Eco. Resting against the shoulders of Young Samos, Jak whispered "Here, I have a gun just like mine for you to train the Kid with. You'll have to refill the ammo at Eco vents, though. Also, do you have the jar with you?" Samos held out the jar containing Jak's memories as his older self marveled at Metal Kor and the Rift Ring. "I... hope this works..." His voice growing softer as his recent memories poured from his head. "Tell Dax... the truth... before you leave." Jak slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome Back to the Past

Chapter 2: Welcome Back to the Past

Samos rubbed his head as the Rift Rider flew through space-time with a silent Kid sitting in his lap, who was torn between awe of the 'place' they were in and sadness over the loss of his beloved crocadog.. He was glad that his older self had found the answers to headaches when he was the Green Eco Sage in the last time-line. Daxter had been unbearable, with his mouth asking questions about an unconscious Jak at a rate that should have been physically impossible for _any_ sentient being. He smiled, though, at the memory of his older self trying to diffuse the situation without giving in to his temper that happened to have a trigger on it called "Daxter Talking". Samos only managed a quick "Things will be different this time around." before he left in the miniscule amount of time that was Daxter calm and his older self distracted. He gave a contented sigh, glad that he no longer had to tiptoe around his older self, but could only hope that the future of the time-line he had just left would work out. Samos lamented that he would never know, but smiled as he thought of what the reaction would be when it was Haven on the back foot, and Jak in control. He relaxed and dozed in the knowledge that this ride was the safe one, and that all would be well as he had approx. 15 years (he didn't actually know how old Jak was) of relative peace and safety before going back into war. If only Rift Gates and Riders weren't so rare, he could make a business of granting vacations through time, only applicable to those with future selves to confirm that it was a success. Ahh... but one can dream.

As Samos was distracted by his thoughts, the Kid was also lost in the past. He remembered his big, strong father, who said he would always protect him, saying how proud he was of his son. And the name, he thought hard trying to remember the name. Mar, that was it, that was the name. Contented, but still sad, young Mar fell asleep, dreaming of the violent world that destroyed the shelter of his father.

Neither time traveller noticed the shadows of figures watching the Rift Rider as it traveled through time. Three ottsel figures stood, obviously consulting with each other. "Should we let them do it?" the Precursor Leader asked, looking at a screen showing the Rift Rider while sitting in a room made of Precursor metal and gesturing to the future Green Sage with his staff. "Should we let them change time as they seek to do so?" "Dude," one of the other Precursors responded, "They should be like, totally congratulated for making such a brilliant plan, and since it's, like, to save the world we're watching over, we should be like, uber grateful and let them carry out their plan." " Yeah! What he said." The third Precursor offered. The Leader sighed, "Oh bother, I suppose you two are right. Still, we should keep an eye on them as our knowledge of the future will be severely disrupted by this decision." "Chill dude, we have like, mondo time to sort that out before they head back to Haven city."

Samos was shocked back to reality when he saw a white light in the distance. It was blindingly bright, and seemed to provide light for this whole space between times in absence of a proper sun. The light grew as the Rider approached and Samos shook the Kid awake. As they entered the light their whole world was pure white for a second, then it faded as the Rift Rider emerged from the Rift Ring in the past, the same one it will enter in an unknown amount of years in the future. It was evening at Gol and Maia's Citadel, the only light coming from a hundred and one light streams arcing from the Rift Ring to the archway of a giant Precursor Door. There was a welcoming party of all the Eco Sages Blue, Red, Yellow and Dark waiting for them, along with Maia Acheron, sister of Gol. Samos and Mar exited the parked Rift Rider, and walked through the archway to hear the Door thunder down behind them; they were ready to meet the welcoming party.

It was a shock to Samos to see all these people he remembered in the flesh, but mostly Gol and Maia untwisted by the Dark Eco they sought to understand; that was the most recent memory the previous Samos had, and its intensity and shock all but burned the image before him out of his brain. "Er, Hi." was all he could stutter out. Gol looked sympathetic, he knew the disorienting effects of Warp Gates, not that he knew what a Rift Gate was. "Erm, I've just come from a... er... city... that's far away via this long-distance Warp Gate to study Eco in Sandover Village." Samos was, for once, finding it hard to talk, and only barely remaining on script with what happened last time to provide a plan for what will happen. "What kind of Eco were you thinking of studying, sir." The eager voice of the Blue Sage piped up, "From the tint of your skin I'd say it would be Green!" Samos sighed, wishing that Blue wouldn't be so irritatingly full of energy. It wasn't really his fault, it was just prolonged exposure to the Eco he studied. "Yes, Green Eco is my fascination, I was hoping to study it as maybe an apprentice to the Green Eco Sage of this region, to try to become a Sage myself in years to come." Samos almost recited that line from memory, because all of his foreknowledge would be useless if everything didn't _appear_ to follow the same time line as last time. "Well, no time like the present, it just so happens that the Green Sage has passed away recently, and we haven't yet found a suitable replacement for him." The Blue Sage was almost _chirping_. Samos suppressed a shudder, and tried to keep listening impartially while stifling his growing irritation. "However, we will need to perform a test to see whether or not the Eco accepts you. Just leave the young fella with Maia here, and we'll get this done, shall we?" Samos looked at the Kid, who looked fearful but resolute when faced with Maia. He tugged on Samos' arm while she approached, and almost gave Samos a heart attack when he whispered in his ear "The Eco Memories called to me while you were distracted, you need to fill me in on the rest of your plan when we get to the hut." Samos desperately tried to school his features from staring blankly and shamelessly at Jak who it seemed had returned earlier than expected. The Kid, now Jak, just smirked at his efforts as he got dragged off with Maia.

While Samos got dragged off to do a few tricks with Green Eco, 5 going on 20 year old Jak sat like any kid would do, absorbed in his thoughts. The intricacies of the memories surprised him, as all were perfectly clear for as long as Jak could remember, providing instant and perfect referencing for his public actions in Sandover. Skills Jak learned in the other time line were particularly detailed, almost like muscle memory. Everything from Jak's instinctive hand-to-hand fighting style, how to talk, how to drive a zoomer, how to aim and shoot a gun, how to scan and notice things that are visually camouflaged, how to use hearing and scent to a greater degree despite those senses not being enhanced by Dark Eco, how to talk, everything. The previous Jak also seemed to have been able to imprint an echo of his consciousness into his memories, but that may have just been the survival instincts he had passed on. All in all, he had everything he needed, as well as the mental clarity to solidify the few precious childhood memories that Jak had forgotten as he had gotten older. He knew that his name was Mar. He knew that he was the heir to Haven City and that Baron Praxis had performed a coup on his father... D... ama... Damas! That was it, his father's name was Damas! He couldn't remember his mother's name though, it just never seemed that important. All that mattered when Mar was with his mother was the love that they shared, where they would sit, with Mar in his mother's lap, and she would cuddle him, tickle him, tell him stories, her name just never seemed important amongst all that. Jak sighed, sad. He knew that his mother was dead, she had remained with him when his father was cast out. In the prison where they were being held under Praxis' rule, they had nothing. The only reason that they were kept alive at all was so that sadistic commanders like Errol and conniving politicians like Veger could visit and gloat at how the House of Mar had lost all of its power. Then, one day, his mother had found a small crack in the corner of the roof of the cell, which she widened so that young Mar could fit through. She then looked at him through the hole and told him to go, as she heard footsteps echoing throughout the hall leading up to the cell. She said that she loved her son, and that he must be strong as she might not be able to make it out to be strong for him, that he must be a big boy. So Mar, who knew that he would never see his mother again, started to cry but stopped. He nodded to show her he would be strong, and she looked so proud of him as she faced the smog-covered moonlight of Haven City. That was the last he ever saw of her as he was picked up and carried away like a baby in the arms of an old man, who he later discovered was Kor.

Jak smiled as he went on to think about his reception at the Underground Headquarters, and the reunion with his beloved crocadog. It was the last one of a litter that bonded to young Mar when they were born. They were fiercely protective of him, but he always saved a special spot in his heart for Buddy, who was the most curious of the lot, and had promptly vanished a month before the coup. His smile faded as he remembered the coup, and how all of the other dogs got shot down trying to protect him. "So where did you come from little fella?" Maia's softly spoken question shook him out of his reverie, and he looked up to the woman who would eventually become half of his biggest problem in this time and shrugged, pointing to the place where they were, to the sky, and then shrugged. "So you don't know where it is in relation to here?" Maia translated hopefully. Jak cocked his head on his side, thought about it for a moment, then put his hands out in an 'almost' gesture. "Hmm. Well, do you know the name of the place you came from?" Jak continued the mute kid act and brightened considerably. "Can you speak?" A shake of Jak's head, the first lie Young Jak made. "Can you write?" More hopefully this time, as if she genuinely wanted to know where he came from through the Ring. Jak shook his head, and pointed to the door that lead to where the other Eco Sages were testing Samos. Maia sighed, "Mute and can't write, I wish you luck for your communicating in the future," Hmm, the future... "But I hope you one day learn to speak." She said it with a soft smile, it was hard to imagine her as the Dark Eco fanatic she became in the future. "I have a daughter about your age, would you like to meet her?"

Jak nodded, and suddenly she looked nervous. "Well, it's just that, she's not like other elves..." Jak raised his eyebrow and waved his hand at the same time to show that it wasn't a problem to him and that he was curious to hear how this girl was different. "Well, while Gol is my brother, my husband was the previous Green Eco Sage," Jak's ears picked up, he hadn't heard this before. "While we loved each other very much, we discovered that I was barren, that is to say, I couldn't have children." She sighed, this was obviously very hard for her. "Now, I have a small amount of ability to Channel Eco, and, quite frankly, I'm a mechanical genius. So with my husband's help I built the skeleton and the major innards of my daughter out of machinery, and he used Green Eco and plants to form the rest of her, I also imbued Green Eco into the machinery, to cause it to grow along with the rest of her. Then the miracles of Eco made her fully sentient, but there are some considerations that need to be taken. She knows what she is, and doesn't need anyone hassling her for it, and she needs a daily supplement of Green Eco and oil to keep her running. Judging by the way she acts around the mechanical toys I give her, she'll soon be making a permanent solution to both problems. She can eat and sleep just like anyone else, but can substitute that for charging on Blue Eco." It was obvious that she needed to explain her pride and joy to _someone_, and Jak felt very privileged. "The reason that I'm telling you at all is because she's going to need to be familiar with the next Green Sage, for her supplements." She trailed off "I hope she sees him as her new father, as she needs one and I'm finding it hard to parent with Gol constantly needing me to help with his Dark Eco experiments." That was said almost in a whisper, but Jak caught it anyway while thinking which of the girls in the village the last Jak grew up in was this mysterious android. Hmm, there was the obvious solution, but Jak wouldn't go there, as he knew where that thought train would lead; he headed it off early with the hypocritical notion that what he was about to think was impossible. In the awkward silence that followed, Maia stood up to leave but Jak stopped her with a wave of his hand. Because she was very perceptive, it was no problem for Jak to convey what he wanted. _'Wait, I want to thank you for telling me this when you have no real reason to trust me and it's obviously a very personal and private thing you're sharing, so I would like to share with you my deepest secret in turn, what is truly on the other side of the Gate we came through.' _Maia raised her eyebrows at what she was being told and the effective manner she was told it, there was no doubt in her mind that this kid was a mute. "What was it?" She breathed, almost not daring to actually ask the question. For once, Jak spoke: "The future." He said softly.

While Maia was out getting her mysterious daughter, Samos entered the room they were waiting in, looking quite flustered. "Jak, is that you?" He asked the Kid rather inanely. "Sort of," young Mar responded "I'm certainly mostly Jak." "Certainly mostly?" Samos responded, confused. "Well, Jak is a me that I could one day become, and certain aspects of his personality that are shown throughout his life have been cultivated in me, but I have my own, innocent perspective that usually, but not always, agrees with what Jak would have done in the same situation. But I am more than just Jak, although he now takes up the largest part of me, because I have childhood memories that he'd forgotten, which make me slightly different." It was quite disconcerting to hear such a young child speak like a battle-hardened adult, but Jak was both. "Hmm." Samos grunted, deep in thought. "I have some secrets that Jak didn't discover last time that I want to show you when we get to the hut. Everything else can wait." He turned to leave. "I must finish my testing, but it's all protocol at this stage, they say the Eco has never responded this strongly before. Just one last thing, do you remember your family? Your name?" Jak smiled as he spoke "Mar." he said, answering both questions. Samos did a double take again, causing Mar to keel over in silent laughter. As Samos left and his footsteps echoed through the Precursor Metal corridor, another set of footsteps came through as Maia returned with her daughter. "Was that daddy?" she asked "I don't know," Maia said, thinking of the possibility. "He might have been." They came through the door. "Umm, I don't know your name but here's my daughter." Jak had already identified the green haired girl in tow, and sat stunned at what he didn't know about on of his best friends. "Keira." Maia finished.


	3. Chapter 3: Sandover and Eco

Chapter 3: Sandover and Eco.

Jak absently kicked a stone as they paraded through the village of Sandover. The Sages, particularly Gol, wanted to parade the fact that a new Green Eco Sage had been found, and that the people of Sandover didn't have to worry about not having a Sage in the region. The problem was, Jak was _bored_. He knew it would be slow in village life, but the utter frustration of not having anything to _do_, like start a brawl, shoot down a few hellcats, that sort of thing. He supposed that it was his fault, actually finding the memories and letting them into his head, but it wasn't his fault that excessive exposure to Dark Eco turned an elf into an adrenaline junky. He knew it was safest, especially as he was in no condition to be doing any fighting, but the urge was there. The Past had gone from quaint and relaxed to maddeningly slow. It was because of this that he didn't notice the kid in front of his, who he suddenly bumped into. He was thinking at the time of his re-introduction to Kiera, who had really blown his mind as she popped a panel on her arm to show him where she pours the oil that helps run her body. She then went on to show him all the parts of her body that could be taken off to show the machinery underneath, fascinated as she was by what was inside her that made her so special and what she could do to make her seem so normal that no-one would be able to tell what she was. She was very sensible about that. Maia took the opportunity to ask Jak why he was so guarded in her presence, and since she obviously didn't like the Dark Eco experiments that Gol was doing, Jak gave her a copy of her monologue from the previous time in the Red Sage's hut. She understood then, and lamented her future loss of sanity. When she wasn't looking, Jak then stole the memory back, hardening his heart and making sure that time wouldn't irreversibly change, and the possibility of her refusing and keeping both her and Gol from the Dark Path was too much of a risk for Jak. Things had to happen the way they did last time.

He shook himself from these thoughts as he checked the person in front of him, but they were already on their feet and yelling at him "Man, watch where you're going. Can't ya see I'm carrying warm Yakow milk here? Honestly, the one day they rope me into working at the farm is the day all of my efforts get knocked over by some new kid." He paused for breath while he looked at Jak for the first time, who had steadily raised his eyebrow in amusement over the high-pitched tirade. "Say, can ya talk? Are ya new here?" He became steadily more sheepish at Jak's expression and more agitated to know answers at the same time. The second time he paused for breath, Jak simply shook his head in reference to the first question, after all he stopped listening at the third, and nodded at the second. "Great, you'll need someone to show ya 'round, not that there's much to see, and maybe we can hang out together, 'cause people say I talk enough for two people... Oh yeah, name's Daxter, nice to meet you." He finished and held out his hand. Jak, still with his eyebrow raised, held out his hand as well and they shook. Jak wrote down his name in the dirt with a loose stone and Daxter looked at it confused, he couldn't read. Jak face-palmed and dragged him over to Samos, who was at the other end of the village by now, and tapped him on the shoulder, gestured to himself, and then to Daxter. "Oh, there you are Jak, who's your friend?" Jak scowled at Samos while Daxter puffed out his chest and stepped forward. "Hey... er... Grandpa Green, you new here too? I'm Daxter, I'm gonna be Jak's guide and I'm his new friend!" Jak, seeing Samos' growing irritation, tugged on Daxter's arm and motioned him to tone it down. The sheepish grin returned. "Yeah, well, lay off my buddy, he can't talk. See ya Jak!" Finally seeing the danger signs himself, Daxter waved, and made a quick getaway. Jak saw Samos about to shout after him, and tugged his arm to take him back to the Green Sage's hut. They had a lot to discuss this afternoon while 'settling in' before Warping to the Citadel that evening.

Jak wasted no time when they were alone "Alright. You have me here, and I have the memories, so what was the rest of your plan?" "Well, for the most part, training. You only dabbled in working out last time, so this time you could be much stronger. You learnt how to wield a gun on the job, you will have time to refine your technique. Also..." Jak cut across "Yes, but WHY! Why all of this? Why must I be a fucking five-year-old who bears these memories! Why is this so important that my innocence was destroyed!" "To make you ready for the moment you arrive, so you don't undergo the Dark Eco experiments!" Samos was agitated now. "Did you think I did this for fun! To experiment with what you could accomplish with memories of the future! No! I did this to spare you the greatest torture of your life! The torture my previous self did nothing to stop." He deflated. "He did nothing. I won't make the same mistake." His eyes were resolute. "Now, do we have time? Yes, now what were those co-ordinates? Ah, yes, there we go." He rearranged the Warp Symbols. "Come on!" He said, and jumped through. Jak was about to follow when he saw that the symbol arrangement looked _almost_ familiar; he would have to experiment later. He jumped through the Warp Gate.

"Welcome, to Eco Island." Samos greeted Jak cheerfully as the Kid tried to re-orient himself after the Warp Gate. It seemed that his younger body wasn't as good at handling teleportation as his older body was; still, it would eventually become second nature. Hmm, why was Samos so cheerful after going through a Warp Gate? Ah, he was floating in a Green Eco Vent; yes, that would certainly do it. Looking around, Jak saw the island divided into four, one for each of the Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow Eco types. So much Eco almost made him salivate, but, as he was reminded when his arm passed through the Green Eco Vent, his Channels hadn't opened up yet, and they would hurt like a bitch when they did. In the meantime, Jak jumped headfirst into the Green Eco Vent, and collapsed screaming as the Channels opened for the first time. "This island is no secret, but it is only ever used when all two or more Sages work on a project together, as the veins of Eco that run throughout the world have changed the land to the point where vents these days only crop up on certain land types. This is the only place where all four Colours of Eco emerge in vents in close proximity to each other. I have to keep up my study as the Green Sage, but you can use this island whenever you like. All of the Eco types have previous projects of the Sages here so you can experiment with different uses of Eco and whatever else you want to do with it. I'd teach you myself, but it seems that you don't react well to my teaching style." And with that, Samos went back through the Warp Gate, leaving young Jak alone. He could see plant projects in the Green Eco section, various machines in the Blue Eco section, prototypes of armour in the Red Eco section, and primitive guns in the Yellow Eco section. There were more projects than that, but they were what Jak could recognise. He might of explored further, but he had a theory to test, so he looked up at the night sky. Samos was definitely at the Citadel now, and Jak had to get one small thing before he could test his theory. All sections had Warp Gates, but none of the other Sages had their ends on; Jak took one last look before leaping (well, as much as he could as a five year old) through the Green Warp Gate.

Looking outside, it seemed that everyone had gone to bed and he was about to sneak out when a kid's face popped into view from the side of the doorway, or archway... whatever. "Hey, er, Jak, I know it's late but do you wanna look 'round the village now?" Daxter had arrived again, just like last time, but Jak was too preoccupied to remember. Jak shrugged and nodded, thinking this was time to play dumb and practice some good old-fashioned curiosity. They set out, with Daxter talking quietly nineteen to the dozen, and Jak just looking around, apparently awed. He was caught up in memories of another life. A life, he had to remind himself, he hadn't actually lived. It was strange, knowing that there's only one time a moment occurs, yet Jak could swear 'till he was blue in the face that it was the second time. He smiled at Daxter as they reached the end of the village, gesturing to what lay beyond and talking with a cross tone in his voice "And this is where the village ends, and, as ya can see, there's a whole world out there that no-one here gives a damn about. Strictly speaking, no-one is allowed outside the village limits after dark, and most of the folk around here don't exactly care enough to want to go out during the day as well. Ya know..." Jak once again tuned him out as he looked at the entry to Sentinel Beach. A wave of nostalgia washed through the boy-who-had-the-memories-of-the-man-that-was-him. He wandered over to the nearest floating orb and picked it up. Daxter was still talking "...and that's why we can't go there now. HEY, have you been listening to me? Wait up! Those are Precursor Orbs. No-one knows where they come from, but everyone loves them." Jak picked up the Orb and grinned at Daxter, patted him on the shoulder, and gestured back to the village. "So, yeah, that concludes the grand tour by the Daxternator!" See ya tomorrow, do you like sneaking around and causing trouble? Cause that's like the only fun thing to do around here." Jak raised an eyebrow, smirked, and nodded. Then turned to go up the path to Samos' hut, waving to Daxter as they parted for the evening.

Taking the Orb that was the purpose of the journey back to the hut, he saw that the markings that were written on it were _almost_ identical to the Warp coordinates to Eco Island. He just had to swap the positions of those two symbols and rotate that one a quarter turn. "Dammit! I hate being short!" He then burst out laughing at the irony of using one of Daxter's favourite lines. He finally managed to change the coordinates and stepped on the activation button to see if the Gate was going to activate if there was a place to Warp to. Wait for it. Wait for it. The Warp Gate sparked a little and activated, which actually left Jak speechless. He thought that it would be cool to try and see if it went anywhere, but he never actually let himself _believe_ that it was going to work. Approaching with reverence, he took a step back, and recklessly launched himself at the Gate before he could tell himself that it was probably an incredibly stupid thing to do. An instant later he arrived, and he gaped. He was on a small island in the middle of an abyss. There was nothing, _literally nothing_ else there, only the inky blackness and the island that was curiously well lit. Looking around at the island he gasped. Aside from the Warp Gate there was a book on a pedestal that read _Eco for the Channellor_, and two vents of Eco that should have been impossible, Dark Eco that was all too familiar looking like falling into Vent, and the legendary Light Eco, in its pure white form shooting out of the Vent and up to where the heavens should be. Jak thought that maybe Light Eco could help the other him with his Dark Eco problem, assuming that Jak still existed in the future, after all, it was his past. Weary of the obvious power around him and very aware that he was a young child, Jak walked up to the book on the pedestal. It seemed that it was all very convenient, considering that he went through this time loop with the express purpose of training for a single moment in the future to apparently have all the answers thrust upon him. Now very cautious, and weary, he approached the incredibly convenient book, flipped it open, and started to read.

_Eco is energy. Pure and simple. If you want an explanation of how it is the lifeblood of the planet, you should instead read "Eco for the Sage". A Sage could not find this book anyway. The island you find yourself in, Channellor, is in the center of the planet. Only a Channellor with an affinity for Precursor Artifacts and a sense of adventure could find this book via a Warp Gate and a Precursor Orb. All other types of elves that qualify for different instruction of Eco will find the appropriate Book near tools that they will eventually use, in another island in an abyss. For now, however, Eco for the Channellor:_

_All types of Eco act in a certain way, should be used in a certain way, and all approached in different ways. By running into and absorbing Eco, you will have noticed that Blue Eco is the most responsive, but more on that later on in the Book. To begin, the Eco types and their distinguishing features:_

_Green Eco. You should have bathed in Green Eco to open up your Channels for the first time, Green is the Eco that's similar to water. Green Eco will flow your body, with it naturally guiding itself to the areas that need to be healed first and foremost. Like a river down the side of the mountain, it's path is very specific and natural. It also doesn't need channels to flow to a wound, so it will heal elves without the ability to Channel Eco. Kindest of all types of Eco, this is where you will start. Other uses later..._

Jak continued until he had read the whole book, his head swirling with information. It also seemed like it was written by a Precursor, because it did things that text couldn't do. He could remember the start of the Green Eco section, but no more, and had to fulfill the next task to remember more information. He sighed and looked mournfully at the Vents an either side of the pedestal. They still looked extremely cool and powerful, and he hated the fact that there was so much work to do before he was allowed to touch them, but the book finished by telling the reader that all ability to cut corners and take short cuts was given up when the Channellor turned the first page, and that by the time the Channellor had finished, anything else they needed to learn had nothing whatsoever to do with Eco. Also, the Channellor wouldn't be able to Warp to the island again until all of the coloured Eco types had been mastered. This will take years, Jak thought, as he thought of the challenges to come including gaining a certain fitness level before being allowed to touch Blue Eco, a certain strength level before touching Red Eco and a certain accuracy level before touching Yellow. He knew beyond a doubt that there was more that Eco could do than what he picked up last time, but he wasn't allowed to remember the rewards doing the tasks would bring. He growled; sometimes, he really missed just having issues. He jumped through the Warp Gate with no idea how much time had passed but was too preoccupied to care. He rather missed having a Dark Eco taint to blame for being moody and angry, but really, everything was conspiring to turn him into a bloody saint or something. He really did miss having issues, they made life so much more badass.


	4. Chapter 4: Second Precursor Legacy

Chapter 4: Memories of a Second Precursor Legacy

"Woah." was the word on everyone's lips as the Precursor Door. Jak just glanced at Daxter, winked, and rolled his eyes. Daxter smiled back from his perch on his shoulder, and gave him the thumbs up before making sure no-one had seen the silent exchange. Daxter. Jak really couldn't do this without him. He spent the first few years in Sandover struggling with doing his training alone, but he started to really miss Daxter. And it wasn't just the Daxter that was his good friend during the day, but Daxter who was his brother-from-another-mother. The friend that Jak shared everything with, and who yelled in his ear at everything he did. That sort of Daxter ended up being almost like a craving to him. And, as Daxter got more familiar with him, and learned to read his body language beyond what he was actively trying to say, the more Daxter realised that something was really bugging the apparent mute. Eventually, when they were about seven, Jak couldn't take it anymore. He knew that he should be training constantly in his spare time, but thoughts of the previous Daxter would catch up to him, until there was more daydreaming than working. He also spent less time having as free, shamelessly extending the time he spent with Daxter so that he could feel alright again. But again, this Daxter didn't nearly know him as well as the previous one knew the previous Jak, so he decided to come clean. Not everything, but most things, and he eventually managed to convey the whole time traveling business, and the fact that eventually they would be returning to Haven City. After he learned what Jak was preparing for, Daxter became even more loyal and would sit on a rock nearby on Eco Island while shamelessly doing absolutely nothing but watching. It was so typically Daxter that Jak could almost cry, and the results that he gained in this time spoke for themselves. He never told Daxter about the future in Sandover, as that had to play out at least mostly the same, but he taught him about everything to do with Haven City, its dangers, the people they met, etc. He also gave Daxter memories of Haven, but kept the one secret that he could talk, if only so he could see the look on his face. As this time grew more and more, with Daxter learning more and more of Jak's secrets, he actually became more and more the character of the previous Daxter.

It wasn't all training and life-or-death scenarios, although he still charged the Wumpbee Nest on his ninth birthday as a dare from Daxter after hearing what happened last time. He still got his arse handed to him, but he did a lot better job and walked out smiling. Samos never knew of this development, but merely raised his eyebrow at Daxter bringing him in for Green Eco. Samos did grow concerned that things weren't following the previous time line to the letter, but shrugged it off as inevitability as Jak seemed to have as much fun as last time. He didn't know that for going through with the bet Jak got to spend the next afternoon using Daxter for target practice with his Blaster while Dax was hyped on Blue Eco; the fact that he couldn't Channel didn't stop him from taking advantage of any extra speed it could offer him while Jak showed off his uncannily good aim, besides, it was only a small amount of Yellow Eco being put through the gun, just enough to set Daxter's clothes on fire and make him run even faster. But Jak really did try to be respectful about it, like that time when they were twelve and he walked into Kiera's garage with no top on and a thin film of sweat covering his upper body while asking the blushing half-android if he could _please_ tell his best friend her secret. The shameless combination of a muscly body to play to her hormones, and the puppy-dog eyes that let her know exactly how much it meant to him worked a charm. Kiera soon regretted the decision, though, as next morning Daxter had talked Jak into stealing her morning top-up oil. His muscly body didn't help much then as the town awoke to a pissed-off Kiera chasing a terrified looking Jak and a laughing Daxter, who spent the next few days taunting her about "popping her fuse", and riling her up successfully at every opportunity. Now, Jak wasn't the only elf with "battle scars" as Daxter put it, but his looked a lot less like stings and claws and rather suspiciously like wrench-shaped welts. Ah well, at least the adrenaline junky in Jak was satisfied at these times. As much as Jak really did try to stick to the program, he found out really quickly that he wasn't that person anymore, he wasn't a shy hero. Instead, Sandover had a crazy, mute lunatic that was even worse than Daxter, and everyone really got how high on energy he was when Daxter of all people telling him to slow down. People were scared.

On that fateful trip to Misty Island, Daxter was more resigned than protesting, and actually not scared. Jak had built his danger tolerance up simply by hanging around him. Jak had just finished his Eco Training, and was glad for the adventure to test his new skills whenever it was just him and Daxter. So when they were discovered at Misty Island (with Jak having to sneeze himself to get them caught) Daxter just stood, irritated at tripping over the Precursor Artifact. Despite the fact that it was the biggest Lurker he had ever seen, he was just waiting for Jak to open up a can of woop-ass and then take them safely home, he was _cold_ for Eco's sake. Just as he lamented the fact that practically nothing could surprise him anymore, he saw Jak perform the recklessly stupid maneuver of running up and throwing the Artifact at the Lurker, and only pure shock kept him from dodging as Jak got blasted back into him and he fell into the Dark Eco pool. 'Hmm, I think I should be dead by now' Daxter thought as he floated around the abyss while his entire body tingled. In another microsecond, he started moving again as he got hurled out of the pool and back onto dry land. Looking up, he saw Jak smirking at him triumphantly as he sat there. He closed his eyes at that point as he remembered when Jak 'told' him he had a major remodeling in his future. He knew it had happened and he knew for certain he would freak out. With his luck he was probably a Lurker Shark, after all, his breaths seemed to come quicker and less air was moving. Resigning himself to the worst just so that he wouldn't give Jak the satisfaction of freaking out, he opened his eyes and looked around. 'Hmm, small and furry, this isn't actually so bad' he thought, and felt the huge amount of energy he now had. He cracked a grin "Awesome!" taking Jak by surprise. "What?" he asked and leaped onto his shoulder. "I'm officially holding you responsible Jak, so lets go back and give the village the shock of their lives. Also, I'm calling permanent shotgun on anything and everything you do." Jak was pleased to have his ottsel-buddy back and 'explained' the whole Gol and Maia problem to the north, and that Daxter had to at least appear to want to go back to his old self so they could have an innocent excuse to go and take the trip up north in convenient time to stop their evil plan. Seeing them in their Dark forms on the Island had really pushed it home for Jak, and he lamented the loss of Maia's sanity. As Dax really didn't want to go back "Dude, this body's way cuter for the ladies, and, it's my 'I fell in a pool of Dark Eco and lived, fool' badge, why would I want to give that up?" Jak just shot him a glare, motioned that it wouldn't work anyway, and eventually just plain bribed him with a pair of pants. God he missed pants.

Geyser Rock was a pushover, and the two literally talked (well, conversed) their way through it. Still, Dax thought it was at least kinda cheating where Jak simply sat in the Blue Eco Vent and summoned all the Precursor Orbs and Scout Flies on the Island, then simply re-routing the Blue Eco to work all the machinery. Jak simply held a sarcastic smile as he fist-pumped when he got to the first Power Cell, making a show of how much of a huge deal it really wasn't. Daxter shared the sentiment, and they tossed the next Power Cell in the pack like it was nothing. Five minutes after arriving, the Warped back from Geyser Rock with every worthwhile thing it had stripped bare, and they acted like it was nothing. Before moving on to Boss all of the other areas, Jak stopped by Kiera's workshop to check on the Zoomer. While Dax was actually flirting well, Kiera didn't fall for it and came back with the same line "Rule number one: I don't date animals." Rather than needing Jak to smack him over the head, he simply retorted "Yeah, whatever, you're just jealous this didn't happen to you 'cause an ottsel body would take less oil to run." "Yeah, well for your information, I found a way to keep my parts running smoothly without needing any more oil thank you very much." "Wow, Kiera, that's huge. So now I know I won't have to carry a giant oil container, how about that date?" "Grr!" She looked ready to kill so Jak waved their attention over to what he had been doing, the last traces of Yellow Eco dying from his hands. Kiera looked stunned. "Jak, what did you do?" She asked in awe, after checking that none of what he did compromised the vehicle's performance. "He modified the engine and gearbox so now it can travel at ridiculously fast speeds." Daxter caught on to what Jak expressed the moment he did so, making him as responsive as his own mouth. "He says that should make it more fun. Also, he said that he made the heat shield more effective, and that it now can withstand Fire Canyon with the four Power Cells we have here, but we'll collect every last one in this area before moving on for the exercise, okay? That should give you time to test what he's done, so we'll leave Misty Island until last, 'cause that's where we saw the teleporter pad." Kiera officially lost interest at this point as she stared at what Jak had done, which was essentially a bastardised version of the Air Racer's engines at the Haven City races. It was better, of course, but Jak wanted to see what he could get it to do. Leaving with a smirk, Daxter called out for Jak "And was your breakthrough mixing the Green Stuff and oil to keep it permanently fresh? You coulda just asked for that solution, you know." And they ran off as Kiera let out an earthshaking yell to rival her father's "YOU KNEW ALL THIS TIME!" "Yep, time to go, our work here is done." Daxter was sporting a self-satisfied smirk with Jak as they went to show the world who's boss.

It was cool, going through everything that troubled them so much the first time around at lightening speed. It was also cool that ottsels it seemed were natural Eco Channellors, so Daxter sat on Jak's shoulder shooting fireballs at anything that was alive and not Elven, including herding Yakows, now _that_ was funny. The Demolition Duo had officially taken the world by storm and it didn't know what to do. From the Pelican that ate a fireball, to the sculptor's muse run down by Daxter on Blue Eco, to both of them pumping the evil plant under the Forbidden Temple full of Yellow Eco as fast as a pair of machine guns. Everything was falling under the might of both of them, as they tore through everything that tried to stop them. The ambush on Misty Island was the first time Jak trialed the power of genuine Eco Transformations against the world. _Eco, when taken orally, transforms the Channellor. Because the pores of the skin aren't open from absorbing the Eco, the body shifts into the form that the Eco is comfortable with. This Transformation lasts as long as you have that type of Eco in your system, and doesn't have a time limit as it is not dissipating energy in your aura._ The Book warned that Transformations were the last thing an Eco Channellor should attempt, but Jak already knew his six forms, well five of them; The sixth one was saved for this moment. Waiting for the ranks of the enemy to fill up with all their troops, he threw Daxter up on a ledge so he could watch the show. Grabbing a Peace Maker ammo charge, he flipped the cap and downed the Dark Eco, his body already trained to handle it. Dark Jak was back, and to the max: His skin turned chalk white, as did his hair, horns and claws grew, and blue veins started to pop up all over the place, muscles bulged, but it wasn't as unnatural as his skeleton changed as it never had before; his spine and limbs lengthened until his five-inch claws were proportional. It wasn't an entirely elven shape though, as his feet became paws and his legs more feline, while his upper body hunched over. Daxter was awed and murmured to the Dark Eco pool that changed him "Wow, you sure are powerful." Jak stood up and looked at all the lurkers around him. They were cowering, but none of them were fleeing yet. He marveled at being conscious while being Dark, and the fact that it felt like a familiar part of him, rather than a taint like it had before. So, grinning like a madman, and sharing the moment with Daxter who found himself looking into the pitch black eyes of the abyss that held so much _life_ and _personality_ it was actually funny. At a look, Daxter braced himself, and Jak executed a Dark Bomb that took care of all the Lurkers. He shrank back down to himself without being physically tired or holding his head as he looked up at Daxter showing 'well that was fun!'

Their whole adventure became like this, a rather glorious holiday that had them joyfully tearing through armies of Lurkers. Who knew that simply having pants would change Dax so much? The bravery was always there, Jak just had to get it out of him. When they faced Klaww, the team explosion shook all of Rock Village, and the gruesome head of Klaww was thrown down to the village as proof. Even in Precursor Armor Klaww shouldn't have picked on two monsters bigger than he was, as Daxter had finally overcome his fear of Transforming to take on Klaww, and was still on a rush. "WOW, Eco is so cool! Man, I don't think I ever want to go back to my other body!" Jak was still rather shocked by this outlook, but then thought that anyone who knew the previous Jak growing up would likewise find his attitude really disturbing. No enemy in their way stood a chance, and it only kinda sucked that at the end, there was an audience watching their fight with Gol and Maia, so they had to play by the rules. They still kicked their arses, and watched with huge satisfaction as they sunk into the Silos, like Samos said, _probably_ dead. Speaking of Samos, Jak noted that he hadn't really checked in with his training at all, and looked a little to much like he had his predecessor's attitude. It seemed that overexposure to Green Eco would do that to you, make you resent elves for destroying aspects of nature to make lives and care only for the plants and the planet, and the only elf that can possibly understand and help nature, himself. Seems like that's just Samos' curse, and there was nothing anyone could do about it; it was a lot like Maia's descent into madness, which probably just spawned from one Dark Eco experiment too many that she didn't want to be a part of. At least this Kiera appears to be made of stronger stuff, and might be able to accept Jak if he does end up going renegade; unless, of course, she has a morality _circuit_ that makes it impossible for her to develop a thick enough skin in that area. Now the Door was opening, and despite the fact that Jak had managed to mod the machines that needed Power Cells to progress so that they needed less, his 'exercise' meant that he just 'happened' to have the right amount of Power Cells to open a Door that no amount of modding would be able to change.

It was all rather too easy, Jak smirked, but it faltered when he thought of going to Haven City in the morning. He had just enough time to shift the Rider and the Gate to Samos' through disassembly and reassembly, fill up his ammo at the Eco Vents, plan his next move after escaping Errol, and tell Dax the plan. He returned Dax's thumbs up discreetly and mentally prepared himself for Haven.

Paradise was over.

Hardship was about to begin.


	5. Chapter 5: Back to the Future

Chapter 5: Back to the Future

Jak sat in the Rift Rider reflecting on the preparations he had made. The Morph Gun was strapped to his back, ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice. He had time to fill up all of his ammunition at the Eco Vents, and had enough firepower to last a small army. In recognition of the fact that ammo was pretty much everywhere in Haven City, he sacrificed a few containers of each type and filled them with Green and Light Eco, as they don't have ammo because it seemed the elves of the future didn't want to shoot healing at their enemies. So now he was locked and loaded and ready to go. He knew how he was going to get out of Errol's ambush, and what he was going to do after that. He had clothes in his bag to get changed into when they got there. It really was amazing how much Green Eco slowed aging, as Jak, Daxter, and Kiera were 19, but still looked 15. Well, Daxter was an ottsel now so it was impossible to tell his age, Kiera told Jak a few years ago that her body had adapted from growing to preserving, so she would look that age for the rest of her life, and Jak spent his first few years of Eco training learning the fine art of Green Eco and all that it entailed, so he practically lived in the stuff for a while; so maybe their youth wasn't exactly normal, but they were the only teenagers in Sandover, and they all still looked and acted like children, so it was considered normal for their generation.

"Today's the big day, Jak. I hope you are prepared... for whatever happens." Jak and Daxter shared a surreptitious wink, they knew _exactly_ what was going to happen. Jak shared the memory of last time's capture with Daxter this morning. "I think I figured out most of this machine." _Good, she would end up building it_. Jak thought "It interacts somehow with that large Precursor Ring." _Ya think? _"I just hope we didn't break anything moving it here to the lab." _Well, we only dismantled it and put it back together, what could possibly go wrong?Eh Dax?_ "Easy for you to say, we did all the heavy lifting!" Daxter manage to cover his laughter with a snort. He would have helped too, but with there always being someone else around to supervise the process, Dax couldn't Transform to a size large enough to be of any help; Jak did all the heavy lifting, but he didn't mind, after all, no-one saw him him grab some Red Eco for the job. Daxter reached out to the Time Map. "Daxter, don't touch anything. Though the Precursors vanished long ago, the Artifacts they left behind can still do great harm." Jak was the only elf who saw the ever-so-slight twitch in Daxter's brow, but it couldn't be helped. Today of all days had to go _exactly_ as it did last time. It wasn't his fault that Daxter's character changed so much that he needed a memory script. Well maybe it _was_ Jak's fault but it was too late to do anything now. "Or great good! If you figure out how to use them!" That didn't quite sound like the new Kiera either, but maybe it was the familiarity factor of 'this is what happened last time, and will happen next time.' "I've had some experience with such things." _Yeah right, you only came here on this same 'such thing'!_ "I know you can make it work." As Jak reached for the Heart of Mar, he couldn't help but feel sad that this one motion would condemn the world to a reign of terror by the Metal Heads. He hoped Mar would show up soon after they left. He pushed the button. "Looks like Jak's still got the mojo!" His act was flawless, but Jak could hear the tiniest of wavers in Daxter's voice; he knew what the consequences of the action would be. "Interesting... It appears to be reading out some preset co-ordinates." Jak zoned out of the rest as he mentally prepared for what was about to happen. He was only dimly aware of the Metal Head Leader as he pressed the Heart of Mar for the second time and rammed into the Rift Gate. In no time at all, the Rider exploded and they all hurtled toward the light at the other end.

BOOM! The explosion in the sky rocked Haven City, and two residents of Sandover came hurtling out. They never noticed the other two of their part come from the same place but hurtle in different directions. When they landed Daxter asked "So, how are we gonna do this, buddy?" Jak didn't think that now was a good time to give the guy a heart failure so he motioned for him to run a safe distance and watch what happened after. Seeing the smirk on Jak's face made Daxter rub his hands together in anticipation, but it also made him wonder if Jak had a few secrets he hadn't shown yet. Oh, this was gonna be good. Errol and troops arrived and the guard to Errol's right said "There he is, move in. Step away from the animal." Not screaming this time, Daxter ran under their legs, and scaled the nearest wall to watch what would happen next. Jak was still putting on his 'Young-and-Innocent' act when Errol stepped forward with his gun butt in the air "We've been waiting for you." And he struck. Time almost seemed to slow down for Jak, his heart was pumping so fast, and he dodged to the left of the blow an rammed his elbow into the soft part of Errol's gut in between two pieces of armour. Only pure shock stopped Errol from dodging as he was winded. The Guards were bringing up their weapons when Jak quickly pulled his arm up to grab the Morph Gun, and slammed his elbow down, gun in hand, on the nape of the Errol's neck while he was doubled over. He brought the gun to bear at his head. "Everyone in the KG stand down, or the Commander dies!" For a second, no-one moved, as everyone was too stunned to process what had just happened. Jak looked up and grinned at Daxter, who's face was absolutely priceless.

Eventually, everyone had stood down an Daxter was once again on Jak's shoulder. Daxter was still gaping at his friend, who had phenomenal reflexes, and a _voice_. Daxter shook himself out of his thoughts to glare at Jak's smirking face with his expression saying _I'll get you back for this_ before cracking a grin as well. Jak spoke again. "Right, now this is a problem for me. I'm now definitely an outlaw, but I don't want to have to carry the Commander's body with me everywhere I go." He kept a swivel head for any snipers on the roofs but didn't see anyone, camo or no. "So, if I just knock him out, how about you guys give me a head start until he's conscious again to bark out orders. Otherwise, he's outlived his usefulness!" He made it clear exactly what he meant. The poor Guards had never been in this situation before, they were used to having people scrabble to get out of the way because they were intimidated by them, not suddenly turn around and stick them between a rock and a hard place. Finally, the one who seemed next in charge dumbly nodded, and Jak rammed the butt of his gun into Errol's temple, and jumped off the walkway and onto the nearest Zoomer after relieving Errol of his Security Passes. Kicking the civilian off of his vehicle made Jak feel like he had returned home, but he needed to do something about his appearance. The last thing he needed was to ruin his Sandover image, so he needed to age a few years and look the part of the badass war veteran he was. Waving his stolen Pass for the only time necessary, he pulled over to one of the alcoves where he could have a chat with Daxter and ready himself for his next move. "What the heck was that!" Daxter screamed quietly in his ear, they didn't want to attract attention after all. "What is it Dax?" Jak's face morphing into concerned and carefree for a moment before he unpacked his new clothes out of his bag. He had denim jeans, a yakow-leather jacket, and a his Eco Ring. This was just stuff he made in his spare time in Sandover because he thought it would look badass, along with his steel-capped boots. "That, first of all. YOU HAVE A VOICE! And you never told me!" "Aw, come on Dax, the look on your face was priceless. Anyway, you need to hop off my shoulder, I'm going to cut my hair." He grew a single black claw and swiped it through his hair, the skyward locks falling off. He then concentrated on the latent Green Eco in his body and forced it to grow some sideburns and a goatee. With the war-hardened look in his eyes, he seemed to age right before Daxter's eyes. He now looked 26, easy. He got up and Daxter said "Woah, cool look, man, but what's our next move?" "Well, Dax, I'm once again a fugitive, and labelled dangerous. Do you know what's missing? Say, Dark Jak walks into a bar..."

Well, Dax wasn't sure if Jak knew what under the radar meant, as he insisted he drink the Dark Eco where they were, and walk the rest of the way to the bar. Jak was having way too much fun, delighting in the fact that he was conscious in his Dark form and managed to be an Eco Freak without the issues that came with it. He literally walked up to the Hip Hog like any other patron, waving at the people who turned and stared at him. One of the Guard tried to stop him, demanding to see ID. So Jak just picked him up and threw him into the water. Guards avoided them after that. Daxter didn't transform, serving as Jak's mouth again and generally bad-mouthing everyone all the way there. He walked in, and the patrons there were too drunk to even care. Jak went up to the bar and grunted "Could I get a beer?" He looked at the elf serving and barely stopped himself from doing a double-take when he saw Sig, in full armour, serving. "Sure thing, chillipepper." He responded, grinning as he went to get the drink. "I don't mean to be rude, but have you got the coin for this?" Daxter responded "Well, we're new to the city, but could you set us up a tab with one of these?" He said, handing over a Precursor Orb. Sig laughed. "You must come from way out of town to be giving away these babies so easily, you'll probably be able to drink here for the rest of your life with the amount this thing fetches. You sure?" Jak grunted his affirmative as Daxter said "Yeah, where we come from, they have, well, a few more of these things than here, how about you get a private room and we'll talk about that and some business, eh?" Sig looked through the bar and called out "Tess! Can you take the bar for a while?" A teenaged Tess replied "Sure thing, Sig." Sig gestured to the stairs out the back of the bar and said "Follow me." As Sig was one of the few people that Jak genuinely trusted as a friend and not a person who was just using them for their powers. If they could reestablish their friendship early, then they would be a formidable team.

While Jak was having too much fun parading around as a Dark Eco monster, but he figured that things would work best if he showed a little trust first, to break the ice, as he had to constantly remind himself that this Sig didn't know him. Sig saw the Transformation back to normal and he chuckled "You cherries sure know how to give folk around here a first impression, what do you say to having me test you guys at the Gun Course. You look like the kind of elves I would want watching my back." Jak grinned, he wanted to get back working for Krew as soon as possible, although he couldn't stand the man, the missions were always way more exciting than whatever Torn dragged in. "Sounds great. I heard that you were the kind of man that was strong, and trustworthy. That combination is rare these days." Sig chuckled again. "Cherries, you can drop the act. I know you only just arrived here from wherever you came from. Could you tell me where it is, 'cause it looks like a great place for a holiday judging from what you were wearing when you came here. I can see that you know of me, at least, but if I didn't know better, I'd say you guys knew me personally from somewhere. Now, I can't place your faces, but you seem like the type of cherries it would be good to know. So what do you say to sharing your story with me?" He looked genuinely excited. "Well, it's a good thing Tess can handle a bar, 'cause we're gonna be awhile. He proceeded to tell his story of time travel to Sig, and he looked on thoughtfully. When they finished he spoke "Wow. That's quite a story there chillipeppers. And it seems to me that you're telling the truth too, no wonder you decided to come to me first; there ain't many that would believe a tale like that. So why didn't you run this war the same way as last time, why do you look so lost?" "Well, the previous me got captured by Errol when he arrived, and was committed to the Dark Warrior Program for two years. I have a shady memory or two of you, Sig, that isn't from the previous me. I'll tell you what it is after we take down the Baron and Kor, we don't need any distractions now and I have two years to burn. What do you say to seeing if I could get a job as a Wastelander, so I could hone my skills, learn a few new tricks and get some street cred in the process. Now that I don't have issues playing the outlaw looks like so much more fun." He smiled. He turned to Daxter, who looked rather put out and asked "What is it Dax?" "I don't know, it's really weird. Part of me is sad that you got a normal voice and I don't have to speak for you anymore. Another part is _proud_ of you! Another part is completely horrified by such a mature response! I'm like _totally_ confused right now." "I think I can fix that" Jak said as he swatted Daxter over the head. The following glare made Jak and Sig erupt into laughter. It really was good to be home.

Krew was back by the time the three of them went back downstairs. "Sig." He breathed, making everyone wrinkle their nose. "Why did you leave the bar? We had patrons that needed you." "Not likely at this time of the day Krew, I was meeting up with a couple of old friends of mine from Kras City. Jak here is good solid muscle, and he came here looking for a job. I said I'd vouch for him, whattaya say, man, the KG shot down his transport and he already held Errol hostage to get out of the situation. You need anymore credentials than that?" Sig was really going out on a limb here, and he wasn't the best liar, Jak at least could tell when he was lying, so he figured that's why he stuck so much to the truth. "Hmm, your word means a lot these days Sig. Fine. Take him to the Gun Course and give him a gun if he needs it. I'll be watching the tapes to make sure he's good enough." With that, Krew floated off. Sig led them to the Gun Course. Jak was wondering of he was going to use Eco, but he decided that the longer he held on to the majority of his powers, the more his enemies would underestimate him. When they arrived, he cracked the vertebrae in his neck. This was going to be fun. He punched the first target in the head, disabling it and quickly shot the two that appeared behind it. He was using the Blaster for this course, but had a style that was as effective as it was crazy. He leaped off the back of a small target, shooting it in the process, to land on a large target that spun as a sign of damage when he landed on it. While it was spinning, he shot all the targets in the 360 degree area. This was just too much fun. All the while pulling stunts like this, he never missed a target, never left one, and never hit a civilian. It was apparent, though, that this style only works if you have complete and utter guard for your personal safety. In the last hall he ran in a dead sprint, wrapped his feet around the head of the target at the end of the hall, and flung himself back down to shoot all the reinforcements from behind. It was all too easy.

"Damn! Chillipepper can you move!" Sig was smiling ear to ear. He had never seen anyone fight like that, but that style forced the elf to abandon all thoughts of self preservation to destroy the enemy. This style showed that the guy at your back probably would die for you. The only person he had seen use this style was... well... There was no way that those two could be related, but Sig's mind unwillingly went back to the story he was told. Didn't Jak say he lived in Haven as a kid before going back in time? De-age him to a kid and you get... Sig's eye grew wide while his robotic eye gave him impossible readings. He was a Channellor too? This was just too much. Sig was definitely a strong, tough, masculine man, but the conclusion he had come to left him reeling. He took another look at the slightly panting elf in front of him. "Mar!" He said, then he collapsed in a dead faint.


	6. Chapter 6: Pursuit of Happiness

**A/N Sorry this took so long, I don't even know if anyone reads this story anymore. I had a huge case of Writer's Block that wouldn't go away, until I finally got sick of it and started to push through it anyway. It was still a bitch to write though, and I'm not sure it's up to par. Also, I sort of lost the plot of the story for a bit, and had to settle on a direction. As much as I love Jak's new powers, this sort of felt inevitable since he first got the memories. Expect a major plot twist in the next chapter.**

**I probably haven't made this clear, but I really would appreciate some reviews, so cookies to JakMartheDarkWarrior, and sulking glares to everyone that doesn't review this chapter.**

Chapter 6 – Pursuit of Happiness

Daxter was not happy. Not happy. He was feeling a combination of confused, baffled, appalled, irritated, sad, pissed off, and most other feelings one associates with being 'not happy'. For the first time in his life, Jak had left him behind while he went to clear the Sewers of Metal Heads in what Krew classified as a suicide mission. And he was pissed about it. It had been nearly a whole year since they had arrived at Haven, and it quickly became clear that there was something that was terribly wrong with Jak. _He_ was happy. Incessantly happy. Too happy. Daxter had spent many a day screaming from Jak's shoulder as he wove in and out of traffic fleeing the KG, but the elf seemed to _live_ for it, to the point that Daxter honestly wondered if his pal would ever get around to killing the Baron as he watched Jak stroll out of the Hip Hog with his MorphGun slung over his shoulder to go and 'take care' of the mission. Dax had privately felt a sinking feeling in his gut when Krew outlined the odds of success, but sucked it in and said lazily "We can handle it, those Metal Heads will have to find a new dark hole to cry in once I... sic Jak on them." He then went to climb on his friend's shoulder only to find himself in Jak's grip. "Dax, I need you to sit this one out, I can't let you get hurt, and this is my big chance to combat-test my other Transformations, and I couldn't bear it if you got hurt in the process. I'll tell ya what, you've already got most of my memories, so I'll leave the rest here for you to watch while I'm gone. I need you to see what I mean." With that, Jak simply took out a very old jar, and filled it with what seemed to be Dark Eco, with a small amount of swirling colour to define his own historical memories. Daxter was still reeling from the shock of it all, and angrily swiped the memories with a scowl on his face. "Son of a bitch." He growled, and poured the memories into his head to see how on earth his supposed best friend could justify this one.

Sig was not happy. To be perfectly honest, he was scared, a state that the big elf didn't find himself in very often. Ever since he had found out who Jak was, he had tried tirelessly to convince him to go to Spargus to meet his father. Not that he had ever said so directly, but he had tried to hint that there was something that he would like to show Jak outside Haven whenever he had the time. Jak never had the time, or an ear for anything that was outside Haven's walls. After the first few missions together, Sig quickly discovered that Jak lived for fighting armies of Metal Heads and patrol after patrol of Krimzon Guard. He was so happy in the midst of battle that Sig was genuinely concerned that Jak would never 'get around' to killing Praxis or the Metal Head Leader, despite having extensive knowledge on both of them. There was always some _excuse_ or other for not taking care of business, which left Sig with a realisation that he shared with Daxter: Jak was mad. Completely. Utterly. He was so content in his power, that he never wanted anything to change and settled for being Master of the world rather than saving it. The problem was, life itself couldn't knock him down a peg as he continued to take the best it could take and ask for more. He was oblivious to the plague that came through a couple of months ago, the Green Eco keeping him in perfect health. Wave after wave of enemies were destroyed by him, not one of them managing to seriously harm him, and after the first few scrapes, nothing could even hit him. He was, for all intents and purposes, indestructible. He was faster, stronger, more accurate, and simply _ahead_ of all enemies; it had gone to his head. He tried to talk with Daxter about it a couple of times when Jak was asleep, but the ottsel couldn't do anything either, and didn't care that much as long Jak was okay and he was by his side. It was a real shame, Sig could see the devotion Daxter had to Jak, but could also see that Jak simply had an emotional need for his friend, like an addiction, and didn't actually care about him. He walked into the bar and took a look around. He heard the front door click as it shut, and turned around to see Daxter sitting on a bar table, looking like a lost puppy, clutching a glass jar of Dark Eco. He saw the scowl that took over his face, the muttered curse, and the unscrewing of the jar as Daxter poured it into his head.

Jak was happy. He was _really_ happy. He smiled as the doors to the Hip Hog closed behind him, his mind already moving to the Transformations he was going to use on this expedition. Eager, he grabbed a case of Vulcan Fury ammo and Blaster ammo as he pondered which Transformation he would use to get to the Sewers. Deciding to take advantage of the open air, he put the Blue Eco back in the Gun and popped the lid on the Yellow Eco. His muscles re-arranged and his body became the definition of 'wired' as he became Yellow Jak. The bulging veins on his obviously strong body glowed with Yellow Eco and he started to glow with the explosive nature of the Eco wanting out. His hair was devoid of all green, and his skin was bathed in the golden light from his veins. Smirking at the few people that had started to gawk, he pushed the Eco towards his feet and launched off the pavement. In the air, he opened his hands and poured Eco out to stabilise is flight. There were so many destructive uses for Yellow Eco, but he preferred to use the explosive power for flight. Sure, it was incredibly flashy and inefficient, but to Jak it was worth it as he loved the spectacle he made while flying; it was also cool to do, with the feeling of the Eco rocketing him through the air exhilarating, it was so fast doing this. He hovered down to the Sewer Entrance and blasted a few vehicles for good measure, including a Hellcat. He used a lot of Yellow Eco to fly, and he ran out about three meters above the ground, reverting to his normal form and falling the rest of the way. It was still worth it.

Once he was in the Sewers, Jak pondered his next move. The mother Metal Heads would be nesting in any bottomless pits they could find, the smaller Bug variety would have burrowed out into buildings and the flying Wasps hated underground spaces. That left him with the Dogs, Grunts, and Shields. Also some camouflaged Metal Heads if he was lucky; the chambers were to small to accommodate the larger Spiders, and he doubted that they could get this far into the city without the Guard and the Eco Grid picking them up (well, they had to be good for _something_ other than toying with). He figured he would be hitting rooms full of sleeping Grunts, with Dogs prowling around the edges. Since his forays into their territory, Shields would be watching the entrances to the rooms. He would have to plan his attacks carefully. He drank some Blue Eco, and Transformed. Blue Jak wasn't muscular or strong, but incredibly _lithe_. His skin turned Blue and he grew taller and thinner as the Eco coursed through his body. His fingers and toes became longer and stronger as co-ordination increased, and his body became proportional to his freakishly tall stature. He concentrated, and activated all of the Eco in his body at once as he started the first stage of his plan. His heart beat faster, his senses became more acute as for him the world seemed to slow down to a halt, as measured by the dripping water in the corner of his current chamber. He started to walk down the corridor to scope out the situation as he whistled a tune. He found two rooms and a pit nest of Metal Heads. They were all far apart from each other, perfect to test the effectiveness of some of his more flashy Eco Transformations without raising the alarm. Well, they will be far enough apart after he finished with the Shields guarding the halls with one hand always on the half tech half Dark Eco communicators that keep them all in contact. With time still stopped, he walked behind every single one and twisted their heads to an anatomically incorrect angle, even for Metal Heads. While he was performing what he saw as a chore, his mind was cast back to the early missions with Sig and Daxter. The fighting style he displayed in the Gun Course was definitely cool enough, but the amount of vulnerability it left him in was slightly disconcerting, and he gave it up after some of the quicker and more talented Metal Heads started to figure out his movements and actually injure him. He quickly went back to shock-and-awe.

Jak reflected on the expression on Daxter's face as he said that he would be sitting this one out, but it was quickly obvious that the arrangement they shared in Sandover wouldn't work here, and his more annoying traits (in Jak's eyes) became more prominent. He still saw Daxter as a friend, his heart telling him that he shouldn't even contemplate leaving him, but Daxter just didn't fully understand him: Haven was his town, and enemies that saw he had friends were enemies that had one more point of attack. The more that Jak distanced himself from the others over the past year, the more he lost the happy-but-powerful person he used to be, becoming an I'm-addicted-to-killing-get-out-of-my-way elf. As the madness that come with power fully began to settle in, the more arrogant Jak became and the more he was alienated from his friends; he paid it no mind. Completely carefree and casual, he wandered back to his starting position and redirected all of his Blue Eco to his ears as time restarted and he heard his enemies fall. Not another sound was there apart from the incessant drip and snoring Metal Heads. Transforming back to normal and walking to the first chamber, he decided to relieve the tension and bad mood created by all the neck-snapping earlier by becoming Dark Jak and Bombing the sleeping Grunts and Dogs. That felt good. As he approached the next nest, he decided that he really needed to work out some frustrations manually, so he took out a case of Scatter Gun ammo. Downing it in one, he fell forward as he went through the Transformation that caused him the most pain. His skeleton shifted so he became quadrupedal with his spine becoming severely prominent. His skin took on a red hue as his muscles started to bulge like bubbling water. Gasping, Jak got up after his bestial Transformation was completed, and lumbered towards the nearest nest of Metal Heads.

Swipe! Slash! Crunch! … The silence was deafening after Jak finally destroyed the skull of the last Grunt Metal Head. This form was his least favourite of the lot, because of how similar he became to the Metal Heads he destroyed. Still, it had its uses, as it was wonderful to let go with reckless abandon and give into his more destructive instincts. Wincing as the last of the Eco drained out of his body, Jak straightened up and slumped slightly on the nearest wall; major physical changes were still taxing. He observed the destruction he had wrought in the chamber, and gave a wry smile. _This_ was the reason that he didn't want to take Dax with him, as he could never fully let go if he was worried for his buddy's health. There was also the consideration that Daxter might think of him as some sort of _monster_ or something if he saw this, and then he would leave (which Jak would _not_ allow). Jak gave a wry smile, like that would ever happen, there was nothing _at all_ wrong or monstrous about being the pest control for this city. When he could get up again, Jak staggered towards the last chamber which was actually a pit that was sure to be filled with the flying Mother metal heads, which decided to nest underground. He hoped they had laid their eggs already, not that he would touch them, because he needed to know where his next generation of entertainment would come from. Still slightly weary from the after-effects of the Red Eco, he pulled out a couple of health packs. Jak stared at them blankly for a second before shrugging, and with a "why not" he opened the boxes and downed their contents.

Green Eco, while still a coloured Eco, was actually substantially more powerful than its counterparts. This is because when Light Eco was originally created and subsequently refracted into colours, Green was the widest beam and retained the most energy. This therefore meant that Green Eco could do a lot more than just heal, and that there was a real reason for Samos' famously short temper. The Transformation was relatively slow, with the Eco collecting in his core and healing his worn out body. Jak then arched his back as the Eco exploded within him. A dark, earthy green spread across his skin as it hardened into a compound very similar to bark. Jak grew, his body swelling with the natural energy as he shot up in height. Green Jak wasn't exactly strong or fast in himself, but he was among the most powerful of all beings when he felt the connection form between the Eco Transforming his body and the nature surrounding him. There was precious little greenery, and Jak discovered the only places currently giving him power were Samos' Haven Forest, and to a lesser degree the agricultural section on the West Side of the city. Still, he was underground, in the Earth, and the Earth never forgot the power of Eco running through it or the life of the plants that once resided there. Marveling in the power of Green Eco, Jak paused for a moment after is Transformation completed itself and just reveled. Returning to what he was there for, he cast his eyes out over the pit, and encouraged thick, strong vines to suddenly grow from the depths. He watched and smirked as the newly created vines obeyed his command and snagged all the Metal Head Mothers from the pit and raised them to his level so he could watch their helplessness, and so they could see the one who destroyed them so utterly. He watch them pensively for a moment as they struggled and some of the braver ones loosed a few rounds of Dark Eco into the vines to no effect. He observed all of this, until without visible warning, the vines crushed them all. Smirking and feeling nature's fury, Jak regretfully released the Transformation. For all of it's power, walking wasn't quite in Green Jak's repertoire. Sagging because of the strain his Eco Channels had been under, Jak took out his MorphGun, and lent on it as an improvised crutch. Mission Accomplished, Jak hobbled his way out of the Sewers.

Daxter's eyes glazed over for a full minute as he reviewed the last of Jak's memories. Everything was there, his full power, his attachment to Daxter, and all the little things that Jak hoped would show the truth of his life and justify his actions to his best friend. And they did, show the truth that is. Daxter finally saw proof that ever since coming to Haven City, Jak was lost in his descent to madness. In a way, it was hardly surprising, as everything in his life so far had to do with Haven City. Young Mar first received his older counterpart's memories so that he could prepare and not get his "it's only matched by my power level" issues in Haven City. He consulted with Samos and trained for years so he could fix Haven City. He boosted the confidance and character of both Daxter and Keira so that they could survive in Haven City. But somewhere along the line it clicked in his mind that his skills were made for combat and that killing the Baron and Metal Kor would cause peace, which was something that was not allowed. Peace meant not killing every other day. Peace meant that periodically spending time hyped up on Eco would be viewed as an addiction. Peace meant torment in a state that he didn't understand, in a place so familiar that would become so foreign to him. The truth was all there, and it only took a minute before Daxter came back to the present and scowled, smashing the glass jar on the floor of the bar "Well fuck _you_, Mr High-and-Mighty, I ain't your fucking pet!" Daxter finished his tirade at the glass shards and looked up, his small body shaking with anger. "Alright, Sig, you're right, this has gone on long enough, I'm not gonna be his _fucking_ little pet addiction!"

Sig mused quietly that it was a good thing that it was around midday, as nobody drinks at this time, the bar is empty except for the pair of them. Even Krew left, although that was for a meeting with one of his shadier _suppliers_. "Hold on Chilli pepper, what exactly are we gonna do? 'Cause I sure as hell don't like my chances going toe-to-toe with the guy." Daxter walked over, but his anger was apparent in the light trembles of rage his body made as he moved, and his uncharacteristically serious expression. "If I know Jak, and I _do _now," he gestured at the broken jar that once held his memories, "then he'll try out all of his Coloured Transformations to get the excess energy out of his system that's been building up for the past few days, and he'll be weak comin' out o' the Sewers as weak as a newborn. We'll nab him there and take him to the Precursors, there's an idol out in the Water Slums." Sig shook his head in wonder, "The Precursors, Dax?", then he let out a sigh "I suppose they're the only ones with enough power to do anything about him now. Alright, let's pick up the powerfully insane elf and go talk to most ancient beings in the universe." Shaking his head again, Sig picked up his Peace Maker and walked out of the bar, a scowling ottsel on his shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7: By the Precursors

**A/N I hope Jak's not too OOC in this chapter, but I'm finding it difficult to balance his blunt personality with his madness and self-importance. Also, in response to my ONE reviewer, JakMartheDarkWarrior, this may be a JakxKeira fic, but I haven't planned it that way so if it does happen it's going to be a ways off yet. But if it does happen, the twist in the next chapter will make it very interesting.**

Chapter 7 – By the Precursors

Picking him up was pathetically easy, Sig thought to himself as he followed Daxter's directions through the Water Slums. He wouldn't normally think something this harsh, but Jak's actions showed that his madness in his power was only exceeded by that power itself. He just pulled up outside the Sewer entrance when the doors opened and an utterly exhausted Jak fell out, though he was still grinning widely. "Sig, good of you to be here." He said before he flopped over, unconscious. It seemed that he was deluding even himself on how much those Transformations took out of him, that he had forgotten how many hours he spent working out to the ridiculous regiment of _Eco for the Channellor_.

Jak had forgotten how much each Transformation cost him, in terms of unrelenting workouts, energy control practices, and just the sheer volume of _years_ that each one took him. He didn't seem to notice that he became Sage-level with practical application of each Eco type, and completely disregarded all the wealth of knowledge that he was given access to once he had achieved his coveted Transformation. Even then, he had managed to forget the strain that each one used to have, and therefore forgot that he had never been able to do more than two in quick succession. He used that many to 'prep' the Metal Heads for his battling pleasure.

It also seemed he was arrogant enough to just fall asleep in the knowledge in the firm knowledge that Sig 'just happened' to show up as a convenient chauffeur back to Krew's, it didn't cross his mind that other people had agendas he should concern himself with. It didn't occur to him in any way shape or form that the people he 'trusted' (read: liked enough not to threaten directly with his powers but instead had them along for the demonstration so as to draw their own conclusions as to whether they wanted to betray him) might have their own plans for him that might be for his benefit, but he wouldn't agree to do.

Daxter, on the other hand, kept looking to the back of Sig's vehicle and sighing. The arrogance was almost literally pouring off the young elf, and the only thing he could do about it was what he was doing now. Even so, the reason his reaction was so violent was because he cared so much for Jak, and the emotional betrayal hurt more than anything else, but he couldn't let his long-time best friend go. The memories that he had that weren't his told him that there was, at least at one point, a time where Jak genuinely cared for him. Daxter only hoped that the point in time wasn't in the last Cycle, the one that the old Jak tried so hard to change.

Sig's mind was still grappling with the entire situation, as he drove towards the only nice-looking house in the district. Jak, who was what initially seemed to be the sort of one-man-army ultimate elf, who turned out to the single most powerful entity since the Precursors themselves and was as mad as he was powerful. That very elf was now unconscious in the back of his car from Eco Strain, and could no more take out Praxis or Kor as he could wave off the fly that was walking over his head at this very moment. And Daxter said that he could get them an audience with the Precursors; suddenly that didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

As they parked up next to the rickety planked walkways of the Water Slums, Daxter turned to Sig. "So, big guy, whaddaya know about the old Precursor Oracle?" Sig racked his head for mentions of them in the few legends that were of a time before Mar, "Well, cherry, not that much." He shrugged "My momma mostly used to tell us about Mar, the only mention I heard o' the old Oracles were how they used to be everywhere, so that the Precursors could keep an eye on us after they left. I remember hearing that there was this future 'event' that would bring them runnin' back, but no-one ever knew what it was. They've been gone for ages though, The Metal Head Leader takin' it upon himself to show up in person and blast those old stone things back to the Precursors they came from. I also heard how most old people who weren't Mar used them to get advise for things that they couldn't solve on their own." Daxter nodded. "Yeah, most o' that, 'xcept we never used to use them for anything other than collecting Power Cells, the stingy bastards always used to charge us 120 orbs each! Even that greedy Gambler only asked for 90 like everyone else! And those bloody Oracles had two of the things! It's not like they were needing the Cells to run them or anything, sheesh. Anyway, the most important thing to know about them is that they never talk straight. Always goin' on about some ancient mystery or other, I never cared that much, and Jak was mute (well he told _me_ he was mute) so Ol' Greeny couldn't get us to tell him what they said. Now where was I... OH! Yeah, there's a Precursor Oracle in there, the Jak of the old timeline used to go there and trade those Metal Head gems for Dark Powers. Anyway, I figure that they can get in touch with the old guys themselves, 'cause messin' around with time'd be something they'd keep an eye on, it was their Rift Ring after all." Sig was understandably lost by this point, so Daxter just gave it up and started to drag him towards the door, with Jak over his shoulder.

_Greetings, brave warriors._ The Oracle's strange voice echoed all over the room, so big on the outside, that was dwarfed by its presence. Coupled with the only light being the candles at its base that don't quite dispel the darkness it made for quite the imposing image, especially for poor Daxter who's only memories were from an elf that was a lot taller and a lot braver than he was. _Once again, the Chosen One has come before me, and once again must I help him on his way to destiny. But this one is different from the countless others that maintained the timeline and achieved their destiny. This one was not tainted by the Dark, but forsaken by the Light, and has lost himself to the power he once sought to save those he loved. There is little I can do for him now. _The Oracle's presence was starting to fade when Daxter piped up, desperate to save his friend "HEY! Ya can't just push him off 'cause he's different this time 'round, you're only here to help him, so HELP HIM!"

_Foolish creature, you cannot understand the intricacies of the temporal displacement that you just 'had a ride' through. Eons ago, when the Precursors built this planet, they foresaw a Darkness that would take it before its time. To remedy this, the Time Cycle was implemented, and one soul was bound in consciousness not to reveal the truth before its time. When Samos discovered the Memory Transfer, he broke the delicate balance that has been maintained for as long as time has turned, and changed the circumstances of what happened. I was built for the express purpose of helping the Chosen One through the trials of Darkness that was his taint, I cannot help you. _The Oracle went to fade again when Sig spoke up, finally having gotten past his shock. "Now listen here, man, I've seen a lot of things in my day, and none of 'em come close to this kid." He nudged Jak with his foot, the young elf curled up in the center of the room. "If we could help this cherry in any other way, we could have, and I don't know about you, but I don't wanna trust the fate of the world to this kid while he's like this."

After apparent contemplation, the Oracle responded, _Very well, your hearts are strong, and although you are not as strong as the one who lies before me, he will need you for the trials ahead. As I have said, I cannot help you, I can only take you to those who can._ A burst of Dark Eco exploded throughout the room, and when the energy dissipated, the Oracle was alone. The atmosphere almost seemed to sigh, before the light finally died in it's eyes. If one was to linger at this point, they would have heard a faint, tired, surprisingly high pitched voice exclaim "Oh bother, now what do we do?"

Jak stirred when they arrived, wherever they were. They were in an inky black abyss in a platform made of Precursor Metal. There was also a large full-sized Precursor Statue. (You'll recognise this place from the bottom of the catacombs and at the core of the planet, but without the Planetary Defense Grid powering up) "Dax, Daxter where are you?" Daxter popped up hopefully as Jak spoke, but Jak simply picked him up and put him on his shoulder, "Oh, good, I'm glad that you're here, wherever we are." Jak seemed almost dismissive as if it didn't matter so much where they were, or what Dax even thought of it all. All was well as long as all was well with him. "I don't know Chillipeppers, but I don't think I've ever seen so much untouched Precursor Tech, or a blackness like this." The voice of Sig echoed out over wherever it was they were, the big Wastelander for once looking out of place, for as surprising as his big hulking frame was in Haven, that was nothing compared to the out-of-place feeling just looking at his full kit of Metal Head armor in what seemed to be the last place untouched by the elves or Horo-quan.

"I recognise the blackness," Jak's voice was as confident as ever, but it was easy to see how the environment around them would suck out all noise and energy, and if it weren't for the light of the platform, it would be easy to lose your sense of self, feeling insubstantial in the pitch that pervaded everything. "It surrounded an island I used to visit growing up. I can't see it now, but it was exactly the same, with the place itself well lit to contrast the blackness around it." Jak looked at his companions, "Foregoing the question of where we are, as I can see that you don't know the answer to that any better than I do, how did we get here?" Sig shifted, Daxter tensed, Jak noticed. "Oh come on guys, it can't be that bad, now can it?" Before Jak got too wound up on his sudden 'how bad could it be?' idea, while mutually agreeing that telling the full truth could be unhealthy, Daxter and Sig improvised.

Daxter started, "Well, buddy, after you were gone for so long, and seeing the strain those Transformations had on you, I called up Sig to see if he could take a transport in case you could use some help." Jak, his face indignant, looked like he was about to interrupt when Sig cut across him. "Not like that cherry, we both knew you could take on all of the Metal Heads, but the chillipepper here was worried about the effects of using all that Eco, Mar knows that my body can't take the stuff." "Yeah, but when we got back to Krew, ya wouldn't wake up, man, and the spare Green Eco we had wasn't helping, and none of us knew a way of helping you that didn't involve Eco, since your body deals with so much of the stuff, ya know, so I talked Sig here into taking you to the Precursor Oracle." Once again seeing Jak's face turn unfriendly, Sig said "Whoa, hold up there cherry, what the little chillipepper here was trying to say is that we tried everything, and even the normal doctor and the scientist agreed that your body should be using the Eco to fix itself, but it wasn't." Dacter went for the home run "We waited for three days, man, and even then nothin' was workin', this was _literally_ the last resort. 'Sides, it worked, dinnit? You're up, ain't ya? The Oracle told us this hocus pocus stuff, and then told us it couldn't help us, ya know, cuz it only deals with Dark Eco, so it brought us here, and now that you're up, I guess that we're waitin' for _that_ goober-eyed thingy," Daxter points to the Statue from Jak's shoulder, "to wake up and tell us we can go home." Jak looked like he was contemplating this development, but didn't look like he found it suspicious. Daxter shared a surreptitious wink with Sig, but was startled by Jak walking over to the Statue, no doubt going to have his conversation with the Precursors.

"Hey!" Jak yelled, "I'm fixed up, see," he gestures to himself, "you can send us back now, thanks and all, but I've got stuff to do." He went to walk off (although I don't think anyone knew where to) when he was stopped by a voice, _Stop, heir of Mar, you were taken here for healing, and we have not yet finished. _A glowing figure in the shape of an elf materialised, floating in mid-air. "Well what do you mean? I'm here and awake and all that, what gives?" _We sense that despite your wakefulness and your lack of Eco, there is another, deep-rooted problem that needs to be taken care of. _The Precursor floated down to Jak's level, although every now and again he paused, and his body shook like he was trying not to laug- but, na, it couldn't have been. "What is it?" Jak didn't feel ill in the slightest, but he stood up straight and in a heroic stance, a pose ready to be blessed by a Precursor.

The glowing figure made his way down until he was standing right in front of Jak, raising his arm as if to touch his brow. Jak tilted his face slightly upwards, ready to receive healing when he felt someone flick his forehead. _Pigheadedness _The Precursor managed to deadpan that one word before dissolving into a full blown laughing fit. Daxter and Sig sweat-dropped slightly until they moved closer (Jak having casually brushed Daxter off when the Precursor approached) and got a load of Jak's murderous face and the part sentences of the Precursor _Did you see?...hahaha...All-powerful...hahaha...He just _stood _there...hahaha...No Eco...hahaha...our most powerful warrior...while I _flicked_ him on the forehead...hahaha! _Needless to say, Daxter and Sig were soon laughing to themselves as well as Jak looked more and more like he wanted to kill something. He had nothing, of course, as his MorphGun and Eco ammo were left in the vehicle. It wouldn't do to have the maddest, most powerful elf ever wake up in a place he might not have wanted to be. With a roar that had no Eco, he lunged at the Precursor, who promptly disappeared. With no outlet, no weapons, and the choice between Sig and Daxter, he lunged at Daxter, determined to get satisfaction for his humiliation.

Arrggghhh!

His wild lunge was stopped by a bubble of what appeared to be Red Eco, but Red Eco didn't behave like that. Before he could say anything to that effect and generally complain about his incarceration, the Precursor appeared again. _A most unwise action, Channellor, for he is the one who will decide your fate. _Jak couldn't believe what he was hearing, that little ottsel in charge of his fate? But even more important than that... "Channellor? I thought I was 'Heir of Mar', and aren't I Mar in the first place?" The Precursor looked taken aback at his choice of topic when he provided an answer. _You are indeed, the current heir of Mar, but you have dropped in our esteem since naming you thus, and so you have fallen. Now we recognise you as merely the tool you would have been at worst. And as for being Mar himself? While you had the power and capability to become Mar, as you are now, you will never reach that part of your destiny. _"What do you mean, 'will never reach it', I was born to be Mar!"

_No, you were groomed to be Mar, but did you really think that with the capabilities of time travel that we have, that we would pin all our hopes on a single soul without a back-up plan? Especially when said soul changes the familiar to a new reality that is much more powerful and the line between destruction and salvation that much finer? Besides, whatever you were named, Mar was more than just a name. His name came from his title 'The Marred One' given to him by us, as he was Marred on his journey and became the leader idolised by all, but you are as yet pure, unmarred by destruction or humility. You are not yet Mar. But as you are untainted by Darkness, you are also forsaken by Light. Why did you not use your Light Eco Transformation? _It was a loaded question and Jak knew it, but he was too angry to care. "Fine, you want to go on one of your 'Light conquers all evil spiels, then do it. Lecture me. All I know is that stuff that's supposed to be pure started giving me headaches. Bah! Anything Light Eco can do the other types of Eco can more than make up for. I don't need it." _Fool, you do not understand that Light Eco has tested you and deemed you unfit to wield it. You aren't even aware that the other Colours are close to doing the same, and that Dark Eco is starting to become restless, wanting to overthrow your control and become the taint you are so anxious to escape. I will repeat myself: you are not yet ready, you are not yet Mar._

Jak growled as he struggled against his invisible bonds, finally having enough. "Fine, I may not be Mar, but I am still Jak, and nothing you can do can take that away from me! I am still the Hero of Sandover, I am still the Defeater of the Dark Duo, I still Saved the World! And I'm still your 'Chosen One', _your_ Eco Warrior. So get your facts straight, pigheadedness? What are you on about, I have it all under control. And why does Daxter 'decide my fate' as you put it? For all his heart, he's just an unfortunate elf turned furry mammal by Dark Eco, and while he is my friend, I am still fully capable of deciding my own fate." There was a complete silence following his outburst, before the glowing Precursor floated up and disappeared.

A bright all-consuming white light emitted from a door opening at the base of the Precursor Statue. The voice echoed through the chamber once more, _What you are about to bear witness to is the deepest secret of the Precursors, one that has been kept safe for as long as we have made worlds, for they would not understand the truth, as you do not. _The light was fading and the group saw three small figures emerge. _But you, unlike them, have need of understanding, the knowledge of what we Precursors really are. _By this point, the light had completely faded, revealing three ottsels. The one that was the furthest back of the three, although they came in a triangle formation, was one that seemed to be a laid back surfer as much as an ottsel. The one in the middle had a hat that covered his eyes, nd his body language and clapping hands indicated an underwhelming intellect, probably being 'encouraged' (read: herded) by the surfer to his left. The apparent leader was more stout than his compatriots, carrying a microphone in one hand that seemed to make the Oracle voice, and a staff of Precursor Metal that seemed to be sustaining Jak's barrier. Once the shock wore off and the gears started turning in their minds, it was Sig that broke the silence "Whoa, um, so you cherries are saying that the young chillipepper over there," he points at Daxter, "is a precursor?" The Ottsel leader stepped forward, discarding the microphone. "Indeed, the youngest Precursor alive was born 300 years ago on Misty Island."

Daxter's head was spinning, but he remembered the important question "So, say I'm a Precursor, and we're all cool with that," he allowed himself a smile and a pose of self-importance, he got so few these days, "whaddaya mean his fate's MY choice?" The Precursor Leader replied "As you accurately guessed when you brought Jak to the Haven City Oracle, a matter of this delicacy is best left to Precursors, and as you know him best, I'm sure you can come up with a more than suitable outcome for him. That and the fact that in countless other timelines (one of which you have memories of), you were Jak's heart, the one to help and guide him when he became lost. You are still that person, so this choice is made for you." Daxter was deep in thought. "Hmm, you guys can fix this madness stuff, right?" Getting an affirmative nod he made to continue but he was interrupted. "We can indeed heal his mind, after all we are the most powerful beings in the universe, but what made the madness is still there, the combination of power and ego will again drive him to where he is today. A fundamental change must be made."

"Fundamental, huh?" Daxter mused, "Hmm, well Metal Heads are the enemy, not to mention that would give Kor direct power over him,so turning Jak into a Metal Head is out," Daxter wasn't really going to turn Jak into a Metal Head, but he _was _pissed at how he was treated, and Jak was in earshot so he could let him stew for a while. "Lurkers are slaves these days, so being one of them _would_ give him humility, but he would need to interact with people on a day-to-day basis, so that one's out. A powerless ottsel is out for the same reason, but it would be funny to see Jak yell at pedestrians that the great Precursors look like him, but then I would lose my shoulder seat, so not that either. We could turn him into a random elf, but I would make him stick out like a sore thumb anyway, and the power and ego would remain, just under a different rapper. Ol' Log'n'the Head and Keira have to recognise him, but it has to be humiliating, like if he was fat or a midget." That last one got a glare from Jak. Daxter stayed deep in thought for a few moments, no longer saying out loud what he was thinking. Finally, an evil smirk appeared, followed by full blown grin. "Oi, guys, knock him out and fix his head, I have a fundamental change that he's just gonna _love_." Despite being fully confident in his abilities as the most dangerous thing in the modern world, Jak took one look in those eyes and found himself feeling very, very, afraid.


	8. Chapter 8: Adjusting to the Change

**A/N Once again I hope my characters aren't too OOC, and that the events that occur aren't too far of what they would actually choose. Also, while there are still cookies available for new reviewers, all the cake is gone.**

Chapter 8: Adjusting to the Change

Jak groaned as he returned to consciousness. His mind was, for the first time in a long time, mercifully clear. He frowned, being all hyped up on power was cool, kinda like a drug, but it didn't make him the most observant of people, unless of course he was showing off and actually trying for once. As it was, his thoughts returned to his power when he felt... off. Something was off, and opening his eyes for a quick glance told him all he needed to know: denial is the only way to come through this development sane. Thinking about the Eco in his body, rather than the body itself, he discovered that he was completely empty but for a small amount of Dark Eco, which felt volatile and unfriendly like it was when it was a taint. That was something else that was new. His memories were now fully integrated, probably a bid to return him to that serious hero mindset. It worked, too, he remembered 'normal' Jak's life as if he lived it, his memories taking on a little less colour and more instinctive knowledge. Opening his eyes fully this time, Jak looked around at his surroundings, completely blocking any thoughts about his changed body. He was back in the chair in the Fortress, in the place that he experienced the Dark Eco injections in another life. Knowing what would come next, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable return of his 'beloved sidekick'. They needed to talk.

"Ding ding, third floor." Daxter's voice was sing-song as Jak could _hear_ the full-blown grin on his face. "Hey, Dax." Jak forced himself to mutter. At least his current issues were stemmed from something real, instead of an oversized ego and a power trip. Still, he had to give an indication that the mind healing had worked, or else he would be in deep shit again, and this time he wasn't exactly in a position to fight his way out of it, not that that had worked last time. Feeling the security locks on the chair release, he sat up and looked at Daxter before the ottsel could jump onto his body like last time, that is the last thing he needed right now. "You do know that if I didn't deserve this," Jak gestured to himself, "Then you and I would be having words, and just me generally killing you for this." Daxter gulped, seeing the seriousness in Jak's eye, but also warmth, which was something the young Precursor hadn't seen in a long time. "Jak?" He said quietly, like he wasn't sure. His ears drooped back and his face took on a hopeful expression; despite everything that had happened, Daxter just wanted his best friend back. Jak smiled, "Yeah, it's me, all cleaned up and only real issues here." He gave a lopsided grin at the horrible joke, but Daxter took heart, after all, he couldn't remember the last time Jak had tried to make a joke for his benefit.

On the spur of the emotional moment, Daxter stepped forward until Jak held out his hand. "No hugging, not yet." Daxter looked put out for a moment until that wicked grin returned. "So why am I here, and what's going on?" "Well!" Daxter took a deep breath as he went into his 'heroic storytelling pose' , "See, we fixed ya right up, but we had to figure out where and when to put ya. Soooooo, we figure that since you went mad over the past two years, it was about the time when you broke out of prison during the other timelines, and it's easier to meet Kor and take the tried and true method to get to the Underground, rather than trying to make something up and getting killed by a suspicious Torn. However, you haven't been in the slammer the whole time, they picked ya up just recently, when ya came outta the Sewers with Eco Strain. Praxis and Erol took a look at ya, 'cause you're an Eco Channellor, and noticed you seemed to have a strange genetic reaction to Dark Eco that a little more would trigger. That was us, we made it look like the Dark Eco you've used so far was buildin' up to somethin' so they gave you a little more Dark Eco and watched what happened. You had a couple of spasms, then seemed to die after your body rearranged into what I made it." Daxter was grinning, proud of his 'creation' even as Jak was growling at him. "Praxis and Erol watched you for a bit, but they couldn't touch you as the Dark Eco was crackling over your skin. When they decided that you were officially dead, they left. But this time I figured out how to undo the security locks on the chair" Daxter finally stopped, cracked a self-satisfied grin, and then comically wracked his mind to see if there was anything else. "So, yeah, they told me that I gotta find my own mighty Precursor talents or something, 'cause ya see they helped me out a bit in changin' ya. They also figured that this was their response to you saying that they couldn't take 'being Jak' away from you, 'cause your sense of entitlement gave ya MAJOR issues, bud. Aaaaaaaand, I have your clothes, which are a little bit different from last time." Daxter cracked an evil grin as Jak scowled, swiped the clothes from Daxter's clothes, and motioned for Daxter to turn around as he got changed. Seeing his body naked for the first time, Jak felt the first cracks in his denial. It was just his luck that the youngest of the Precursors was also the most perverted: Jak was a girl.

As Daxter turned his back on his best friend, he couldn't help but have his face break out into a true smile: His best friend was back, sane and all, and he would now have the pleasure of riding on the shoulder of one of the best-looking women in all of Haven. His mind flashed back to the clothes he had got for Jak, which were the female version of what he used to wear. The blue tunic was a lighter colour and fabric now, which meant that it showed off her body's figure without actually showing anything, although he had ripped off the arms. It was a pity that he couldn't give his best mate a plunging neckline, as the thought of riding on her shoulder as she ran through Haven, her breasts bouncing with every step... well, he did like life, not to mention that if he came into Krew's on the shoulder of a woman dressed like that, well he didn't think his Tess would appreciate it, and the one in this world probably wouldn't hook up with him. That didn't stop him imagining Jak fastening her Eco Ring underneath her breasts, lifting them up and... ahem. The pants were nothing all that special, as they still had the beige, bland colour they used to have, but they hugged her thighs and her ass quite nicely in his opinion. Also, they were pants, and after all the other options Daxter could have chosen, he felt that it was quite a gift, coming from a person that appreciated pants as much as he did. Finally, though, there was the matter of the underwear, of which he had been waiting for an outburst any second now. Maybe the truth put his female best friend into shock so much that she found herself momentarily mute. "DAXTER! Do you have a death wish!" "Do ya want me to turn around and answer that?" Daxter couldn't resist a smart-ass reply. "You stole Ashelin's bra and knickers, Dax, and you made me too big for them!" Daxter internally snickered at the image, but felt a feeling of foreboding, Jak's outburst was quieting down to a low, deadly tone that the former male had never used before. "So which of us were you hoping would kill you?" _Shit_.

Jak was seething. He was a girl, that much he- no, she could get HER head around, but this? How was h-she going to move around with a body that looked like something out of a teenager's wet dream? Inwardly she grumbled. For all of Dax's perversions, he seemed to have thought this one through well. No-one was going to take her seriously, so she was going to have to build up a reputation as Queen Bitch just to get any respect. For all her power (and she still didn't know what those ottsels did with it), no-one was just going to let her prove herself. She was no longer imposing, but looked like a piece of eye-candy first. What was worse, was that when she found Keira and Samos, or even Sig, things were going to get really awkward and humiliating, as she still looked like herself, not to mention that now she could be the Kid's mother. "Hey Dax, is Krew going to remember me?" She asked, still taking stock of her body. "Naw, we fixed it so that he thinks that he had a contact that never met him, that took care of the tougher jobs over the past two years. He died recently, but the big man won't connect ya to him. Sig'll recognise ya though." Daxter's ears perked up at the non-hostile conversation, but judged that it wasn't yet time to turn back around. Good thing too, as Jak was still taking stock of her body.

Her hair wasn't luxurious, but it was long, Daxter had left a small mirror in the clothes, and she could see (and feel) that it reached the small of her back. It was mostly a light yellow-green now, with only the tips remaining blond. Most of it fell free and straight, but it was wild, so it would frame her face, and also fall straight with locks grouping together and flicking off at the ends. Her face, and by extension her build, was mostly slim, with a few GLARING exceptions. She felt as physically strong as ever, and could see the small, but firm muscles of her body. People would only see her true strength if they got close enough to properly examine her, or if she was in the process of punching them. Her eyebrows were thin and arched, and her eyes shone strength. Her nose was delicate, but firm, and her mouth had lips that could be soft and inviting, or snarling with rage. Her jaw was narrower and softer, but just as strong as ever. She had to hand it to Daxter, (mentally, of course, it's not like that she would ever say this out loud), he knew how to make a woman beautiful. Well, as soon as you discounted those obscene curves. Pulling her clothes on, she was pleasantly surprised that she knew how to stand with the different center of gravity, and instinctively knew how to put on Ashelin's underwear. Straightening up with her clothes finally on and looking around the still deserted Fortress room, she had another thought. "I'm gonna need a new name." _And revenge for doing this for me_.

Daxter whirled around and looked up at his transformed best friend, and was momentarily speechless. Even all of his perverted fantasies had never prepared him for the sight that stood before him. She had a large chest, yes, and huge ass to boot, but what struck him most was the fire in her eyes, as Daxter could never imagine a complete person with consciousness and all. All of his perverted thoughts seemed to pale in comparison as his thought-bimbos that would jump at a thought couldn't measure up to a real elf. She looked like a Queen, he thought, openly gaping up at his best friend. Her posture was straight-backed and upright, in the at-the-ready pose she had adopted unconsciously after she started to learn to fight in Sandover. She looked proud, but not arrogant, she looked strong, but not like a bully. She looked... absolutely beautiful. Ready for war and love in the same breath. Ready to spot him looking in the next instant. "So," she said turning to face him with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Like what you see?" She seemed to relax into innocence and she started to play with her hair. Daxter's eyes bugged out and she smirked at the look on his face, before giving up the act and falling into a full-on laughing fit. "You should have _seen_ the look on your face!"

Jak finally calmed down, and with a smile on her face she picked him up and put him on her shoulder. "C'mon Dax, you gotta finish filling me in while we get out of here. And, thanks, you know, for the muscle memory and stuff." Daxter, trying to get her back for the embarrassment, asked "Well, ya mentioned a name, buddy. What'll it be? Jane?" "Oh _hell_ no." Jak scowled up at him. "I don't want a name that's weak. How about..." She trailed off, scrunching her face up in melodramatic thought, _if I'm stuck in a body like this I may as well make use of it_, which Daxter had to stop himself awwing over (his best friend is getting good at using that body _way_ too fast). After being absolutely adorable for a full five seconds (with her inwardly smirking) she simply said "Joan." Daxter stared. "Ya do know that that name means 'the Precursors are gracious' don'tcha?" Joan simply smirked again. "Well they had better be, 'cause I sure as hell won't." Leaving that hanging in the air, she walked over to the boxes stacked by the maintenance area. Getting a feel for her body in motion, and harbouring a great appreciation for the female body (although she was not perverted as her best friend), Joan began to consciously swing her hips. She had to hand it to the Precursors, this body felt as natural as her old one, but how quickly it was becoming normal was concerning. She thought of herself as much Joan as Jak. Mentally shrugging it off as a question she would have to ask later, she went back to her new favourite hobby: teasing Daxter with the female body he created.

"Say, Dax?" She felt him perk up on her shoulder, now content in the knowledge that she wouldn't be killing him in the immediate future. "Do you want to hop off my shoulder and trail a couple of steps back so you can watch my ass as I walk and jump around?" She turned her head around and raised an elegant eyebrow like it was a genuine question. Daxter was sputtering, and under that fur Joan thought there must be a blush. "Jak... Joan... mate, I gave ya that body as a prank on top of everything else, and sure, it's hot, BUT WOULD YA PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE THAT? IT'S _SO_ WRONG!" Despite her ears ringing, she picked him up and held him in front of her. There was something she had to know, and she had to push past all of his facades to find it. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Why did you scream, Precursor Daxter?" Joan had to clear the air as to whether Daxter prized their platonic friendship over the fact he created his fantasy woman. "Jak, buddy, ya in there?" Daxter seemed genuinely concerned that he had lost Jak to whoever was inhabiting her body, but she gave no reaction, all the spark in her eyes gone. "Don't go, Jak, I'm sorry." Joan held herself still, her eyes still not showing any response. It sounded like Daxter had something bottled up inside that he needed to get out. Daxter lost himself in the words that were pouring out.

"I'm sorry I couldn't understand ya fully when we was growing up. I'm sorry that I couldn't do more than watch when you spent more and more time in the Eco. I'm sorry I didn't try to snap you outta your funk earlier, and I'm sorry that I had to betray you to fix ya." The tears were coming now, Daxter had all this repressed for a long time, and the recent developments only added to the pain. "I'm sorry I had ta change ya in order to fix ya, I'm sorry I was vindictive in the body I gave ya. I'm sorry that the body language and the mind shifts we made to make the transition into ya new body easier just made us lose ya all over again, and I'm so sorry I couldn't be the friend ya needed, the equal ta balance ya." His voice sad and hopeless now, his tears long dried. Wriggling himself out of her grip, Daxter flopped to the floor. "Well, miss, I hope you find your way outta here and have a nice life." His body fully slumped in heartache, he went to walk off when he was glomped from behind. "It's okay, Dax." Joan was holding him tightly,tears in her eyes, rocking him, and healing the heart that had been frayed for so long.

Eventually they stilled, and Daxter stuck his head out of the embrace, his mind for once not on the beautiful woman holding him. "Jak? Why did ya do that to me?" "Dax, I'm sorry, but I needed to know where your head was at, and even before that, I'm not sure I should be adjusting to my -see, I just said _my_- body this quickly. I know how to walk, how to dress, how to flirt, how to tease, and I'm worried that I'm losing any pure character I had between the old Jak and this new body." She seemed concerned, slightly distraught, and concerned that she was distraught. "Well, girl, let's test that: How old are you?" "Twenty-one, why?" Joan was puzzled. "And how many chicks will tell ya how old they are?" Daxter had a triumphant grin, but Joan snorted. "Yeah, but that's a stupid thing to get wound up about, like diets, and clothes..." Daxter piped up slyly "And revenge?" "Yeah," said Joan without missing a beat. "Exactly like tha..." She trailed off, a small grin overtaking her. "See, you're your own person, and, thanks to me, you're an amazingly beautiful person." Daxter was right. "Now, we've been able to leave for _ages_, so why don't we finally get a move on?"

Friendship repaired and issues solved, the Demolition Duo had to returned, and a jail bust was the perfect thing to get them back in the rhythm. Despite everything, Daxter found his eyes wandering as Joan ran, jumped, and generally worked up a light sweat getting out. She was getting familiar with her body quickly, which she attributed to the Precursors helping her out, and the fact that it would be the body she would be stuck with for the rest of her life. Not getting used to it could only hurt her in the long run, no matter how messed up the situation was. Because she was used to intimidating people with her presence, and was never subtle about it, it was obvious that she had to come up with new ways of freaking out her opponents. Fortunately for her, Daxter had given her a lot to work with. When they came up to the first pair of Guards, she quashed her initial instinct to run, and after asking Dax to hang back and watch, she called out to them "Um, excuse me," The Guards whirled around with their guns in the air, but lowered them as she gave an apologetic smile and raised her hands. "Sorry, I was told to come here by Commander Erol, I must have made a wrong turn somewhere." She looked sightly sheepish, but also self-assured (she was _not_ going to perform a ditz act), and more beautiful than anything these Guards had ever seen. Once they got out of their shock, the apparently more senior of the two pulled out a map. "Well, ma'am," The voice changer on the mask couldn't hide the nervousness he was exuding. "If you come over here, I can show you where we are and how to get back." Flashing them a blinding smile of gratitude, she walked towards him, before slamming her fist into his ribcage. Feeling a sudden give, and hearing a loud crack, she straightened up as the Guard fell, cradling broken ribs. His partner could only watch in stunned shock as she turned towards him with her leg out as she caught his side, kicking him into a nearby wall, where he screamed on impact. Straightening up, she looked at them, who were still conscious, and said "Take a piece of advice boys, know when a girl's out of your league."

Daxter could only stare at his partner as she dealt with the Guards. Even after everything they had talked through, he couldn't help but wonder when she went all feminine on him. He knew it was something he had to get used to, and that she was doing it as payback for the body he himself decided to give her, but this behaviour was so unlike the Jak he used to know. Still, when she turned around to him, triumph in her eyes and a self-satisfied smirk on her face, Daxter could only see Jak. Most of the Guards in the Fortress were like this, unable to react properly to the threat that was sending hot blood to their lower regions. It was, however, nice to see that she didn't thoughtlessly kill them as she once did, instead leaving them in a position where they needed serious medical attention. It was indeed a day for small miracles, even as she explained that she needed them alive to spread rumours of the Evil Bitch that runs through Guards like boytoys. Dax snorted at that, he couldn't imagine Joan falling for any guy, especially with Krew in her mind. He then thought of the alternative, and promptly passed out due to all the blood rushing to his head with the image of Joan and Kiera having hot lesbian sex.

Joan had spent as much of her childhood reading Dax's true meaning behind all the words as he did reading what she couldn't say, immediately smirked as he became dead weight on her shoulder. A quick glance told her all that she needed to know, and since she had yet to develop feminine pride, she played another prank on Daxter. Her playful side was coming out now that she wasn't living her life for the power she would need at some point in the future. Daxter woke up and his first impression was _soft_. It seemed like he was being cushioned by soft flesh, soft flesh was surrounding him, forming two comfortable lumps and... "JOAN!" He jumped out of her tunic a meter into the air and landed on the ground shaking his fist, and his fur on end. "What's wrong?" The twinkle in her eyes promised mischief, and he could _hear _the smirk. "Weren't you comfortable, Dax?" There goes the eyebrow. Daxter just huffed and turned his back, thinking that there was a possibility that this body he made was more trouble than it was worth. This action, however, just gave Joan the opportunity to pick him up, her eyes sparkling as she snuggled him and walked off to find the exit.

As they approached the portal out into the streets, Joan asked "Dax, Eco feels different, what happened?" Daxter looked distinctly uncomfortable as he answered. "Well, Joan, Eco's sorta the lifeblood of the planet, the last gift of the Precursors and stuff. When ya started ta learn about it, your intention was to save the world, so it worked with you. Light Eco had the highest standards, and saw the outcome before any other Eco, and refused to let you learn it's secrets. 'Cause Light Eco is a whole thing, without a direct purpose like the Coloured Eco, it wasn't enough that ya wanted to learn it's secrets and use the Eco for the sake of usin' it. Recently, the Colours started acting up when they felt that your actions hurt the planet more than they helped. That was why your Eco Strain was so bad after your little jaunt in the Sewers. Eventually they would have left ya anyway, but it became more 'aware' when we started workin' on ya, so the process was rushed a bit. To use them again, you'll have to pass their tests and prove that you're different from before. Dark Eco didn't care so much, cuz ya kept destroyin' stuff with it, but even it has a connection to the planet, so it started to feel like it could do a better job without bein' controlled by ya. That makes it sorta like the taint it was." They reached the portal now, and Joan paused. It didn't surprise her much that Eco was at least partially sentient, but the loss was staggering. Looking out over the Slums from her vantage point, she felt a shiver as she looked at the streets that were so familiar, and now dangerous. She was alone and powerless in a way that Jak had never been, and it was scary. Pulling herself together and sighing, she leapt out of the Fortress, going to face her destiny.


	9. Chapter 9: Haven meets Joan

Chapter 9: Haven meets Joan

Life as the Metal Head Leader, Kor mused, was eventful to say the least. His kind were created by those known only as "The Dark Makers". Since then, they were the face of the war against the Precursors, whatever they were underneath all the machines. Since they left this planet, the Horo-Quan had to make do with the elves here, as they weren't made for interplanetary travel. The only real reason they were made in the first place was because this looked like the world for the Precursors' final stand, and the Makers were losing. Still, in order to keep pressing at the enemy, they had to have at least a passing knowledge of their machines, including those infernal Rift Gates. Keeping track of time was an aggravating and thankless task, but it was one he took up when following the trail Mar left when hiding the last Precursor Egg. His efforts bore fruit, as he felt the earliest opening in history back when the people of this planet were primitive, and could offer no real resistance. He took great pleasure in informing the Baron of the arrival of the time travelers, and traveled all the way into the city so he could meet them here, to make sure they were here, and everything was going as planned. The journey into the city required massive restraint, and every moment was painful. He wouldn't have made it at all, if he didn't know that the boy time traveler couldn't lead him to the Precursor Stone, and that someone was making mincemeat of his children in the city Sewers, almost cultivating them for a regular slaughter that seemed to be entertainment. Such things gave the powerful being headaches, not exactly something he was fond of. A citizen gasped and disrupted his contemplation as someone jumped out of the Fortress and into the streets. Feeling that his moment had come, Kor lurched forward with the Kid close on his heels, before almost having a heart attack seeing the young woman in the streets. Overcoming his shock, he pushed forwards regardless whilst inwardly groaning, it _had_ to be one of those days.

Joan landed gracefully, the residual Dark Eco giving her strength a hint of unnaturalness. Straightening up, she had to hold back from attacking Kor as he moved toward her. He was almost defenseless under the Shield Wall... _stop, bad thoughts, get into the Underground first_. She noticed, with dark satisfaction, that he looked like he had seen a ghost, so he obviously wasn't expecting her, she sent Daxter a wink. It seemed, with all that had to go exactly a certain way, she had to give up killing everyone that gave her grief, and instead play absolutely evil pranks on their expectations. Kor took the initiative, "Hello, stranger, my name is Kor, may I help?" Joan gave him a blinding smile. "No, that's quite alright. I'm just looking for my brother." She spotted Mar down by Kor's feet. "Oh, Mar, there you are!" She practically squealed in Kor's ear, glomping the young Kid. She looked him in the eyes and spoke to him using the facial speech that they knew so well. _I know you don't know me, but I want to be your friend. Let's play games with all the grown-ups! _The maniacal glint in Joan's eye was matched by young Mar's, who proceeded to pull on her arms to pick him up. They faced Kor, who looked like he was going to pop a vein, when Mar looked up at him with his big, child eyes and pointed at Joan's face and put on his big smile saying _Look Kor, this is my sister! _Daxter crawled down Joan's arm to look at Mar when he said "Sheesh! We haven't seen this Kid in ages, thanks for bringing him old man, seeing him again sure brings back memories." The Metal Head Leader's devious mind ground to a halt watching this display, having to witness Mar greet a sister Kor was sure he didn't have, and then just being flicked off like he was an outsider on this moment, something that wasn't going to plan. It was almost a relief to here something as normal as a KG area cordon, "Everyone in this sector is under arrest by order Baron Praxis for suspicion of harbouring Underground fugitives. Surrender and Die!" Kor was beyond waiting for the orange rodent to say something according to plan, so he quickly scrabbled for some semblance of control over the situation. "Protect us from these guards, and I'll introduce you to the people that have been keeping your brother safe."

Joan was looking forward to letting off some serious steam in her first public brawl, so she felt for the ambient Dark Eco that was always thick in Haven's air. Despite planning on Transforming anyway, it still came as a shock when the Dark Eco didn't immediately submit to her will, and the Transformation was painful. She contorted with pain as the Transformation ran its course, though she barely maintained consciousness. Dark Joan straightened up, looking like Maia always _thought _she looked like after her Dark Eco tainting. She stood tall and proud, the Dark Eco usually bulking her up instead increasing her height. Her skin was bleached white, and her firm muscles gained a small amount of mass, bringing her to proportion with her height. Her hair didn't stand on end, but instead had hundreds of volts of Dark Eco electricity sparking along it, along with the horns that sprouted on her forehead. Her slender hands gained long, thin claws that she held up, the mix of Dark Eco and her remaining consciousness admiring the Transformation. Her pitch black eyes holding far more personality than they should emanated cruelty as she smiled sadistically. Straightening up to a full head over all the KG, Joan gave into her need to release all her pent up angst she had hidden so well since waking up in the Fortress.

Daxter was agape, having crawled off his best friend when she had set the Kid down. He was curious as to what the Dark Eco Transformation would do to the female body he had designed. He watched her double over, in pain as the Dark Eco strove to control her mind, but she never let out the monstrous scream Daxter had heard so many times before. Instead she had straightened up, a veritable giant amongst the KG, and smiled. That smile sent shivers down Daxter's spine, and he hoped that Joan would never turn on him, as she was so much scarier than Jak ever was. The first KG was pissing in his armour, absolutely terrified of the creature in front of him. He had been sent into this area to perform a routine mass extermination in the campaign of keeping the people fearful of the Baron. He thought it was absolutely beyond his luck when he found easily the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He had thought to wow her with his strength and authority, then spare her life so that she would be his forever. Nothing else registered in that moment, and he would pay the ultimate price for underestimating the new Alpha Bitch of Haven. Dark Joan walked forward, in complete contrast to her former male self, and sauntered straight up to the Leader of the KG, who was no longer remotely terrifying. "What's the matter honey, too much woman for you to handle? I guess you won't be needing this then." She proceeded to stab her claws into his crotch, her claws tearing through the armour like it was tissue paper, and wrenched out the soft tissue, putting the man in too much pain to even scream. Following up with her other hand into his throat, she tore out his jugular as well. Carelessly tossing down the pieces of bloody flesh in her hand, she smirked at the rest of the squadron, who were trying to back away slowly. Smirking and showing her sharpened teeth, she asked "All right boys, who's next?"

Kor was speechless. He was seeing slaughter unlike anything he had seen or done before. As the Leader of the Metal Heads, he hated all elves with a passion, them being the species on this planet that had the residual powers of the Precursors. Even so, with all the armies he had decimated, the cities he had razed, the elves he had watched being eaten alive by the Horo-Quan, nothing came close to this. Their purpose was always to kill the elves, and that was what they did. They were damn good at it too, baring a few tougher specimens that managed to survive the desert. Still, the purpose was always killing or eating, they never bothered to leave them alive long enough to put them through the most pain possible. The Dark Eco creature in front of him, however, had no such rush. She literally froze them with fear and walked up to them, systematically disassembling them in the most sadistic and brutal way possible. She seemed to want more than just these guys dead, she acted like they had personally earned her wrath by being loyal to the Baron and being male. Daxter tried to reason this out, as Dark Joan had almost finished and the resulting carnage was a spectacle to behold. It wasn't like they were killed by a creature in any way, as it was much more decisive and intelligent than that, but it was also worse than any creature sight Daxter could remember, including the skeletons of previous armies that they found while storming the Metal Head Nest last time. One of the KG had regained enough of his wits to fire a shot off and hit her, but the resulting pile of bloody flesh that wasn't whole enough to be called a corpse left a clear message. The man had died quickly enough, but it was what she had done afterward that would be forever burned into his memory.

Joan prepared herself for the killer headache generated by transforming back. After removing her hands from her face, she looked around and smiled. She had been conscious in her mind enough to see what was happening, but the Dark Eco guided her thoughts and feelings. Still, even though she wouldn't perform wanton sadism like that normally, she wasn't going to regret the fates of the Krimzon Guard that were sent to kill the residents in this area. She supposed that the reason she cared so much for these people is because of her meeting with the Precursors. They firmly stated that if she stayed how she was, she wouldn't become the Mar of legend, and despite having no intention of changing, she wouldn't let go of the idea that she was _supposed _to be Mar. That basically made this her city, and her people, so she wouldn't let the Baron fuck it over. It was nice to swear vengeance on something again. She made her way back over to Dax, Mar and Kor. Daxter looked like he really didn't want to piss her off (and actually wouldn't so much this time), Kor looked slightly sick _Yeah, and one day I will have the pleasure of doing that to you_, but Mar looked at her with his jaded eyes and smiled, he trusted her. A Hellcat zoomed over, and the pilot looked like he was going to issue an order, but decided against opening his mouth when he saw the carnage that was a whole squad of KG once. Joan smiled, picked up Daxter and Mar, and spoke to Kor "Well, where are these people?" Kor looked around to see if the street was suitably empty, and indeed the dead KG proved an effective deterrent. He whispered "They are the Underground, a group dedicated to fighting Baron Praxis and removing him from office. I would suggest you join up based on your fighting skills alone. A word of advise, don't tell the Shadow of your relation to this boy, as he is supposed to take the throne after the Baron has been defeated. It would sow discord amongst the group if an unknown person suddenly claims rights to the Throne of Haven City." Joan sent him a look, and put her hand on her hip for effect, "And I'm just supposed to walk in there with the Kid that won't let go, with the same green-blond hair and blue eyes and the fact his Crocadog isn't attacking me? What, am I supposed to let them think I'm his mother? Besides, are they planning on waging this war until Mar here's an adult? Come on, show me where they are and I'll do the rest."

Torn sighed, putting his communicator down on his desk and rubbing his forehead. The war wasn't going well, not that it ever was, and the Shadow was in his room meditating. Kor had just called, so he couldn't just go back to his plans for the next operation. Apparently there was a young elf with some fighting talent, and the Kid had taken a shine to them. Kor was bringing them over personally, just abandoning his mission to take the Kid to the next Safe House. He had to go out and meet them, so he called Tess, who was the only other person in HQ at the moment. She was getting ready for a long-term spy mission with Krew, the city's Black Market leader. Kor was going to send the new recruit into the alley alone, so they could test them. He just hoped that he wasn't wasting his time. Daxter was like a kid in a candy store, plotting all the ways they could meet Torn, as well as the fact that Joan had given him a stolen KG sidearm. He put it on his back-holster for now, counting on them not taking him into account. Joan knew that she was going to be dismissed as soon as she was seen, so she went through various ways to make it clear to the ex-KG that she wasn't a bitch that he wanted to mess with. Torn was only waiting for five minutes and already he was sick of it. It wasn't like he expected them to appear the instant he was ready to receive them, but there really were better things he could be doing. Tess was much the same, she didn't scowl much, but interrupting her preparations for the biggest mission of her life would do that, especially since she was only dragged out so that Torn wouldn't be alone in his aggravation. They heard footsteps and turned to take their first look at the person they hoped they were waiting for. Tess and Torn simultaneously groaned inwardly as their eyes found the woman walking up to them. She wasn't subtle in the slightest, with a huge grin and a body that many women would die for and many men would kill to call his own. Then she saw their reactions, and giggled.

Joan was having a great time, watching the expressions on the faces of Torn and Tess. She wasn't originally going to go for the ditz act, but a silent conversation with Daxter had her doing it anyway, it would be the ultimate surprise, but she still found Daxter's grin a little disconcerting while finding it disgustingly easy to slip into the role. It didn't hurt that the I-can't-fucking-believe-this expressions on the faces of the Underground members were hilarious to watch. Torn tried to solve the problem quickly, "You know, civilians that walk into this alley usually don't walk back out, especially not civies that look like you." Joan just smiled wider "Oh, is that a rule or something? I'll make sure to tell any civilians I find that for you." She sent them a wink as she kept walking towards them. Tess tried a sisterly approach, trying to get rid of this lady before the recruit they were waiting for showed up. Still, Tess wondered how this woman had got here, as none of the elves in the Slums was as naïve as she was, but it probably wasn't her fault that she was an airhead, some people were just born that way. "Honey, this is a dangerous neighbourhood, you really should leave, the KG come around here and arrest people all the time. C'mon, I'll help you find your way." Joan just smiled at her too, watching the pair get more and more aggravated. "Nope! I'm not lost, 'cause this is where the Underground are isn't it? Besides, I don't care about the KG, not after what I did to the last squadron near the Fortress." Torn perked up at that, he saw a video stream of the damage that had been done after one of his undercover agents found the site, he couldn't believe that this slut was trying to take the credit for that, and he didn't have time for this. "Listen lady," he pulled out his curved knife and twirled it in the air for effect, "around here, people die!" He made sure she could see the blade in the air to punctuate that statement. In the next moment, Joan had crossed the distance, grabbed Torn's knife out of the air, held it against his throat, and held out her other arm which Daxter had scrambled over to Tess' shoulder and was holding his gun against her head. Joan smirked, "Well then you better be careful who you're rude to, Torn."

Torn was now cursing up a storm in his head, his day had just gone from bad to worse. The girl at his throat had taken control over the situation from the moment she first appeared in the alley. Watching her wind them up in hindsight was not the 20-20 vision that he wanted. She had skills, he had to give her that, unfortunately she also had the Lieutenant of the Underground and one of its senior members at their mercy. The Underground was only funded by the loot they could manage to get from the Baron, and they didn't have many people that could take on missions of that caliber. Torn was trying to fight a war without trained soldiers and any money. Most of the members they had were civilians that he had met once or twice and taught a couple of fighting tricks. He usually made them cause a ruckus around the KG while others swept in and stole everything, knocking out as many Guards as possible in the process. As far as the active war went, their best members were him and Ashelin, and he had to coordinate while Ashelin could only do so much. As such, they only had a proximity defense at the mouth of the alley that would collapse the buildings and kill nearby KG while any members in the Hideout escaped to the Sewers. There were no snipers to help them on the rooftops, the Shadow refused to personally fight fellow elves as a rule, they were completely alone. Suddenly, the woman straightened up and the rat climbed down from Tess' shoulder, she raised an eyebrow "The name's Joan, so do we make the cut?" Joan hadn't expected them to be so rattled by their sudden lack of power, so she guessed that the Underground was in a worse state than she thought. It looked like they really needed their help to get back on their feet. Torn straightened up and appraised them, "Not yet, you need to do something useful for the Underground if we're going to let you in. You have some skills, but that alone isn't enough, you have to be loyal to the cause. For now, you can go to the large drain pipe in the North Wall, that will take you outside the city, to the Pumping Station. Find the valve in the Slums, it'll be turned off. Turn it on, and you'll return water to the area. We'll be grateful enough to let you join, but only if you succeed."

Mar was thoughtful. He had just met this strange lady and her ottsel, yet he felt like he trusted her completely. He wasn't an innocent kid, not by a long shot. Watching the coup-de-tat happen with his father exiled and his mother imprisoned had taken away any innocence he had left. Damas never let him have much innocence anyway, but taught him about the world in ways he could understand. He taught Mar to count, though not to read in the time they had been together, and had taught him to lead. He took Mar with him when the Council was in session, showing him the various issues and how best to handle them. He had Mar on his lap whenever a Guard reported in after a skirmish with Metal Heads, comforting the soldier and allowing him to rest. Mar never payed all that much attention to all that, feeling that he would grow up like this, but one thing he always know: _Always trust your instincts, they often lead you to the best and most elegant solutions_. The details were fading, but he remembered that much, and all of his instincts screamed for him to trust that lady. It wasn't that Buddy the Crocadog didn't bite her, he had never bitten anyone he trusted fully, it wasn't even that she looked so much like him, with the hair, eyes, and even the facial features to a certain extent. It was that she _understood_. He hadn't spoken since the coup, yet she knew how to speak with him. She knew what made him laugh, and how to pull a good prank. She was strong, but good-natured too. It was that she could _relate_ to him, and in his silent world, that more than made him his 'sister', it made her his kin. So when she walked back out of the alley to the alcove where Kor was keeping him out of sight of the KG with a self-satisfied smirk on her face, he felt fully justified in running out to meet her, smiling, and generally reveling in her success. Mar was a little sad when she said she was leaving, but was deeply touched when Daxter gave him his KG sidearm, even when Daxter said it had served its purpose. The lady, Joan, promised to show him how to shoot it when she got back, but said to keep it hidden with that same glint in her eyes.

Joan was feeling pretty good about the mission she was given, considering it was Jak's second. She attributed her bigger heart as a change that came with the body, and so was looking forward to bashing any Metal skulls that came between her and helping fix her city. Despite feeling that such maternal feelings weren't manly in the slightest, she gave it up when she figured that they weren't actually doing any harm and might help her keep her moral compass pointing north. When she arrived at the Pumping Station, she started to limber up in anticipation. It was very nostalgic going into battle with nothing but her hands and feet as weapons without Eco or guns. Cracking her knuckles, she grinned up at Daxter before getting ready for her daily exercise. She knew the path up to the valve, and it was nice to get her heart rate up with some old-fashioned running and jumping. Darting across the dangerous machinery and precipices gave back the adrenaline rush she used to get a lifetime ago while exploring Sandover without training. When the Metal Dogs showed up, she quickly fell into stance, spun and kicked the first one in the head. Its momentum carried it close to the edge, where it lay dazed until she followed through with breaking its neck. Having to wait on collecting its Skull Gem, Joan turned and brought her fist around on the other Dog that was charging. The strength and momentum carried by the swing literally had her fist crashing through the Horo-Quan's skull. As its head caved in the Gem popped out of its socket, where Joan's hand turned up and caught it. Trudging back to the other dead Metal Head, she pried that Gem out as well, and continued on her journey. There were a few more skirmishes on her way to the valve, but the Metal Head presence at the Pumping Station was only in its early stages. As a result, she only had eight of the golden gems by the time she had reached the valve. Her lips twitching, she looked expectantly at Daxter and gestured toward the valve. "Oh, no. No! This definitely counts as next time missy, now YOU turn the valve!" Smirking at Daxter's discomfort, she shrugged and walked up to the valve. It opened when she gave it a light tap with one hand, so she turned to Daxter and said "All hail the mighty strength of the Precursors." Daxter could only gape, before saying "Well, that's what we built all those machines for, ya know?.. Hey, wait up!"

Torn had already pushed the girl Joan out of his mind, after briefly entertaining the idea of introducing her to Ashelin so she could teach her how to loosen up a little. It came as a surprise then, in the relative peace of plotting the war and the Kid's playing with his Crocadog, that only an hour after they left he heard the distinctive sound of water moving through pipes. He quickly leapt up and turned off the open end of the valve in HQ, which they had left that way in case any rain made its way into the plumbing system. Just in time too, the pipe end shuddered with the force of the water running into it, and Torn feared the pipe might burst. Grabbing one of the empty water containers they had been rationing since the pipes were turned off, he uncapped it and opened the pipe. Water flooded the container, and it looked like it would fill quickly. Grabbing more containers, Torn proceeded to fill them all until finally the water pressure died down. Having a drink himself, he grabbed a canteen and went to the Shadow's room, it was time to inform him of the good news. He returned barely five minutes later when he heard the telltale sound of a zoomer gunning into the back-alley at full speed, before exploding on the house at the end of the alley, but it wasn't like anyone lived there. Unsheathing his knife to discipline the young adrenaline junky that just arrived, he found himself completely unprepared for a Joan flying full speed down the stairs that lead to the hideout. "Oh, sorry Torn, what's with the knife? OH! There you are Mar, come give your big sister a hug and I'll get you a canteen of nice, cold water." Completely glomping the equally happy city heir, Joan continued to prattle on. She reflected on her behaviour recently, and realised that the point of the transformation was to change the person she was, so she couldn't hold on to him. Besides, it would be the best way to turn the joke on the people she knew when they met again, and it's not like she couldn't be violent when necessary. Torn stood frozen for a full moment until he formed the first coherent question, "Your name's Mar?" The Kid nodded, although he didn't know how Joan knew his name either. "And she's your sister?" Definitely, most definitely.


End file.
